Shattered Mind: Destruction
by Krimson Rogue
Summary: Book 3 of the Shattered Mind saga. His past revealed, his future determined. As Trevor faces his demons, he and Kaiten finally team up together to save the world from Kuja. But what happens when Trevor starts to hear a second voice?
1. New Reign, New Problems

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: I seriously love you guys. XD

Despite being a little late, your reviews have made the last chapter of Shattered Mind the most popular one of any of its predecessors. It really took some control not to just jump back into writing Shattered Mind, but I had to get some work done on my novel since it had gone untouched for some time. Still, that teaser was a lot of fun, wasn't it? XD

Also, one thing about the "F U Suzie's"… I expected to get 2 or 3 of them, but no, I got a ton more. You guys really came through in your support, which really meant a lot to me. Thank you. ^^

Ah, but pressing on, we have a new book to go for. Trevor's been wandering around Gaia for more than three years now (a little over a month and a half in his time) and he practically feels like a member of this world. At least, he does to me. XD And now, he's back in Alexandria and goes from 'amazing magic swordsman' to 'class-ditching delinquent'. Maybe Zidane's a bad influence. XD

And in one final note, I decided to do something special again for this chapter. Since Shattered Mind's been going on for more than three years and the story and characters are gaining more depth than I thought they would when I first started writing the story, I've decided to open a facebook page for everyone to enjoy. If I can manage it correctly, you'll get to see weekly interactions between Trevor and his friends from high school and get to see some of his past unfold. Additionally, you can interact with him to an extent, ask questions, leave crap on his wall, and all that fun stuff. I'll try to acknowledge everyone who posts something, but the big deal will be every other Saturday, in which I'll post a little skit or scene from Trevor's life in high school. The original idea was that I was going to just write a small scene at the beginning of each chapter, but this seems a little more interactive. It should be a lot of fun. XD

The link is in my profile.

But if anyone invites me to Farmville I will go on a murderous rampage. o.o

Chapter 1- New Reign, New Problems…

XXXXXXXX

It was good to be back in Alexandria.

Vivi took a deep breath as he wandered down the main street in the village. He reminisced about his first time here as he walked. It was because of that nice man, Marco, that he was able to find a ride all the way from Treno. He had no idea that he would be swept up into the adventure that he had when the Prima Vista took off with the princess on board.

Vivi sighed. It had been two weeks ever since he and the others had taken off from the Outer Continent. Brahne had received a wonderful funeral, though Dagger and Zidane were the only ones from their group to go. Trevor offered to hit the bar with the young mage, where he explained that Zidane was only attending the funeral because he wanted to be around Dagger. Vivi didn't understand it, but Trevor always seemed right whenever it came to anything.

Now, Dagger spent all her time in the castle while the rest of their friends were sheltered in the Theatre that Ruby, one of the actresses from Tantalus, had created here in Alexandria. It was cramped, and Vivi spent the night with a frilly hat as a blanket, but it was free, which suited everyone just fine.

Vivi was confused why Trevor stayed with them though, when he had a nice dormitory at Alexandria University to sleep in. Trevor always seemed to freeze up when he was asked, then he would just say that the dormitory was boring.

Vivi didn't really mind any of it though. The days were getting warmer and everyone was acting more festive. With all the colorful balloons and streamers hung over town, you almost couldn't tell that there was a funeral for the queen a few days ago.

"Excuse me!" came an older woman's cry. It snapped Vivi out of his thoughts and he searched around for the voice.

There was an older hippo-woman waving at him from the side of the street. "Young man," she said again. "Can you come here for a moment?"

It sounded to Vivi like she needed a hand with something. He was in a good mood, so he decided to help her.

"Thank you young man," the Hippo-lady said. "You seem to be about the same age as my son, Hippaul here. You see, he's gotten so out of shape since he spends all day inside with his Tetra Master cards. He's gotten so doughy lately."

"Mooom, stop it!" Hippaul complained. "You're embarrassing me."

"Quiet dear," the Hippo-lady said. She turned back to Vivi. "So anyway, I was wondering if you would be willing to exercise with my son and help get him back into shape. It's not without its rewards."

"Um, no thanks," Vivi said. "I mean, I'm sorry, but I'm meeting a friend soon."

"Aww, are you sure dear?" the Hippo-lady asked. "Well, alright. We'll be here if you change your mind."

Vivi bowed out politely, but hurried along quickly before they could reel him in again. _What weird people,_ he thought.

The next plaza was practically crawling with activity. Store clerks were announcing sales from their front windows. A group of kids ran by Vivi, chasing after one kid with a ball. A man was busy nailing a schedule of shows beside the large ticket booth in the center of the plaza.

"Everyone's so lively today," Vivi said.

"Hey mister!" a little girl shouted. Vivi turned and saw a small girl, no older than 8, running up to him. "We're trying to play jump rope and see who can get the highest count. Wanna try it?"

"Um, no thanks," Vivi said. "I need to meet a friend."

The truth was, the last time he had tried to jump rope, Vivi didn't know what he was doing and the rope caught on his feet. He lost his balance and fell straight onto his nose. He wasn't about to try jumping rope again anytime soon.

Vivi was glad when he finally reached the inn. He left the noise and excitement behind and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked around, but didn't see anyone around except for the innkeeper and a woman complaining about her room.

"What do you mean you gave away my room?" the woman shouted. "I had reservations!"

"I'm sorry ma'am," the innkeeper said. "But you were a day late. And a man came in who was very insistent that he get his own room."

"What? Show me where this guy is! I'll kick the crap outta him!"

"I reeaaally don't think that's a good idea ma'am. He said he was a traveling swordsman. He looked pretty strong."

Vivi snapped to attention at once. "Excuse me," he said, walking up to the innkeeper. "That sounds like my friend. Can you tell me his room?"

"Huh?" the innkeeper said. "Uh, yeah, sure. Up the stairs and down the hall to the right. He's in the first door to the left."

"That's where he is, huh?" the woman asked. "Good. Now I can take care of that arrogant bastard!"

"Ma'am, I really don't want any trouble."

Vivi simply rolled his eyes as he walked up the stairs towards Trevor's room.

XXXXXXXX

"Not bad," Kaiten said. "You're catching on, albeit slowly."

Kaiten had pulled me into my subconscious again. It made for the perfect battleground and training area since we could manipulate the scenery without causing any brain damage that a few beers couldn't match.

Kaiten was wearing his Terran armor again. He looked like he really belonged in the metallic-blue plate armor. It clinked with every motion, but he moved as fluidly as if he were in a t-shirt and jeans. The weight did nothing to slow him down.

I wasn't allowed to have anything. I just wore my t-shirt and jeans. The one advantage that I did have was that I could conjure up Crimson and Azure once again. I had missed the blades ever since I lost them within the Iifa Tree.

"It's not my fault," I breathed. Even within my mind, Kaiten still managed to tire me out. "I just don't have any good music. Or scenery. Couldn't you have pulled up a dojo like they did in The Matrix?"

Kaiten raised an eyebrow. "The what now?"

"You spend all this time in my head with nothing to do, and you don't even watch some of the movies I've seen? You could have the ultimate surround sound since the memory books would probably project everything around you!"

"I prefer to read about what's going to happen in the upcoming storyline," Kaiten said simply. "That way we can have a better idea of what to prepare for."

I just shook my head. "If anyone ever needed to get laid more than you, I don't want to meet them."

Kaiten rolled his eyes at me for the umpteenth time. "Whatever. Prepare yourself." He readied his pair of katanas.

"Hang on," I said. "We need music if we're gonna continue."

I found my memory book of music and flipped through the heavy metal section. There I quickly found a song that I hadn't heard in the longest time.

"Here we go," I said. I dropped the book on the ground and Celldweller's "One Good Reason" started resonating through the air. Heavy guitar riffs broke into the air, pumping me up for combat. I felt like I could take on an army now.

"Perfect," I grinned. My arms twitched for only a second before energy shot through them and into my swords. I readied myself with both blades in Demon Saber mode. "Ready!" I called out.

Kaiten nodded. He took off into the air and charged up his swords, like he had been doing for the last few hours of practice. Dark energy capped his swords as he let loose a barrage against me. "Arc Storm!"

Several crescents of chi blasted their way passed me and exploded against the ground. The few that did make it to me were quickly dealt with. I slashed into them, cutting them in half with my Demon Sabers. The energy dissipated into nothingness, leaving me safe for another few seconds.

The explosions didn't kick up any smoke, but they were instead able to distract me well enough. I looked up and didn't see Kaiten where he was. I only noticed the presence behind me at the last second.

Kaiten had flown behind me while I was busy blocking. He had a pair of Explosions capping his swords. I had only a fraction of a second to duck before he crashed them together. A Whirlwind blasted through the air where I had just been standing.

I twisted and jumped to my feet again, ready to counterattack. Kaiten rushed me, but I cut off his route by swiping at his legs and chest. He jumped over me like I was a bump in the road and swung again. This time, he hit.

I flew through the air and bounced off my shoulder before I landed in a heap. My side hurt and I was bleeding. I sighed at my carelessness and just healed myself. Training inside my mind held all sorts of advantages.

"If I had used an Arc, or Explosion, you'd be dead," Kaiten scolded me. He kicked the memory book on the ground closed, cutting off the music.

"Give me a break!" I shouted. "We both know the only way I can beat you is if I cheat."

I imagined the Dagger of Time in my hand to prove my point.

"Things are going to get a lot harder," Kaiten lectured. He sheathed his katanas and offered me a hand up. "You can't cheat that way in real combat, so I have to beat some real experience into you."

I grunted as I took his hand. "Any chance we can just try training dummies for a while?"

"Trevor?" Vivi's voice echoed heavily. It sounded like I was standing in an empty convention hall.

"Wow," I said. "Is that what everyone sounds like in here?"

"Yup," Kaiten said. "It can get annoying, so I try to ignore it. It gives me a good excuse to check intel, or distract myself however I can."

"Trevor? Wake up," Vivi called again.

"I'll answer him," Kaiten said. "Keep training here. Use some… training dummies, or whatever, if they'll help."

Kaiten vanished before I could answer. I just looked around, alone in the vast emptiness that was my subconscious. Normally, when Kaiten took over, I was pulled back and watched the world passing by my eyes. This was the first time I was actually left by myself in the white room.

I decided to take a look around.

XXXXXXXX

"Trevor?" Vivi tried once more.

"Mmf, hey," Kaiten said. He pushed himself up from the bed and cracked his neck.

"Are we going to the castle now?" Vivi asked. "We haven't seen Dagger for a few days."

"Yeah, yeah," Kaiten said, standing up and giving a fake yawn. "I just need to make a quick stop first."

"A stop? Are you getting something?"

"I need to pick up some new swords for myself. I can't keep walking around with a pair of weapons without any damn crossguards."

Kaiten lazily pushed himself out the door ahead of Vivi. The young mage followed close behind.

"I think we need to do something to help Zidane though," Vivi said, concerned. "I don't think he's left the pub since yesterday."

"I haven't seen him in a day or two," Kaiten said. "Maybe he just wants to drink his sorrows away."

"What does he have to be sad about?"

"The guy wouldn't shut up about Dagger on the boat ride home. That's my guess."

"Then, we should bring him with us to visit Dagger!" Vivi said excitedly.

"Maybe. Let's just hope—"

"You!"

Kaiten looked down the stairway and saw an elderly woman staring at him angrily.

"Can I help you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You stole my room!" the woman yelled. "Give it back!"

"Ma'am, please don't raise a fuss!" the innkeeper begged.

"You can have it," Kaiten said, disinterested. "I just needed somewhere private to take a nap."

"And you think you can just inconvenience anyone else, just like that?" The woman pulled out her purse and swung it angrily. "Your mother should've given you more spankings as a kid."

The woman charged up the stairs, intent on beating Kaiten with her purse, but the Terran lieutenant had very little patience for it. He caught the purse straps in one hand, then leaned into the railing. His leg snapped out and landed against the woman's cheek. She spun as she fell down the stairs, rolling once. She landed on her shoulder and moaned in pain as Kaiten walked over her. He reached into a pouch and pulled out some Gil.

"On second thought, I'll need the room for another night," he said. He handed the innkeeper the money and walked outside. Vivi was right behind him.

"Why don't you go find our thieving friend?" Kaiten asked Vivi. "I'm going to pick up my swords."

"Okay," Vivi smiled. "I'll meet you back here."

"Sure thing," Kaiten said, brushing him off with a wave.

Vivi ran down the street into the inner city, leaving Kaiten alone in the plaza. He walked into the smithy across the parading plaza from the inn.

"Hello?" he called out into the dark, dingy room.

"Yeah, yeah. One sec," came a voice. Seconds later, a gruff, old man with the body of an ox walked through a door to the back. He cracked his back, producing several pops, then walked up to the counter and coughed. "What c'n I do fer ya?" he asked.

"I'm here to pick up a pair of short swords," Kaiten said. "I left them here two days ago. They ready?"

"Yeah, th' magic sword guy," the blacksmith asked. "I d'no why ye'd wanna synth a magic sword with mythril, but hell if I care."

"Magic or not, the old swords' shapes weren't any good for combat or adventuring. And mythril is a good metal to bind them with."

"I said I don't care," the blacksmith said. He disappeared through the back door for a minute, then came out carrying a new pair. He placed them on the counter and pulled out a cash box.

"That'll be sixteen hun'red Gil," the blacksmith said.

Kaiten pulled more money out of his pouch and set them on the counter, grabbing the new short swords.

He had the Exploda smelted to refine its shape, using a mythril sword as a bonding agent. The new swords were longer than any Trevor had owned before and the blades had a distinct orange tint. A thin fuller was carved out of the middle of the blade to reduce the weight of the blades. Their quality was top notch.

"You'll be hard pressed t' find anythin' better'n those two," the blacksmith said.

"Certainly seems that way," Kaiten said, though he knew Crimson and Azure were far better swords.

He simply ignored it though and sheathed both of the new short swords into his sheaths, but he noticed a problem. His new swords were several inches too long for the sheaths.

"Damn," Kaiten swore. "Hey, any idea where I can get some new sheaths? These are a bit short."

"Hell if I know," the blacksmith answered. "Try askin' some leatherworker. I just make the swords."

Kaiten rolled his eyes at how little help the blacksmith was, but didn't let it get to him. He left with a wave. Besides, if anyone tried pointing out that the short swords were sticking out of the sheaths, then a quick blow to the head with the flat of a blade would shut them up pretty quickly.

"Trevor!" Vivi yelled over the crowd in the plaza. Kaiten looked over and saw the little mage waving with Zidane right behind him. They both pushed through people on the street and made their way to the indifferent Terran.

"Hey guys," he said. "Shall we?"

Vivi nodded and quickly took the lead. The three of them walked towards the docks so they could visit the castle.

XXXXXXXX

"I feel slimy," my four-year old self said.

My mother just smiled. "You need sunblock so you don't get a sun burn sweetie." My kid-self just struggled against the slimy sunscreen.

Of all the things I could have done within my mind, of all the training I could have done, I just had to find the memory book of my mother. Right now, we were taking a family trip to the beach. Mom and I had walked onto the sand and set ourselves up while my father was off getting ice cream for everyone. Mom had offered to share hers with me. That probably meant she would let me have most of hers.

There were a few people walking around along the shore. I had found a spot chosen by another couple. I was sitting under their umbrella, sitting through the woman, like a ghost. I just watched one of the few family moments that I ever got to experience in my life.

I wanted so badly to just walk over and join them. To pretend, even for a few minutes, that I belonged with them. I wanted, more than anything, to just hug my mother.

But it was only a memory. Only an illusion.

I kept my distance.

"Ice cream!" my younger self shouted when he saw my father coming back with a melting bowl of chocolate with sprinkles. He practically jumped when my father handed the bowl to my mother.

"Thanks dear," mom smiled. She leaned in to give him a kiss. My younger self didn't really notice. He was busy smearing ice cream all over his face.

"Trevor?"

Kaiten was calling me, but I didn't really care. I watched as my younger self started walking along the beach, looking for seashells.

"Trevor!"

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"We reached the castle. I thought you'd want to be the one to meet and greet with everyone."

I sighed as my mother talked about getting a cramp if my younger self swam in the ocean. "Fine," I said. "Switch places. I need a change of scenery."

XXXXXXXX

I could feel myself being pulled backwards. The world of my subconscious faded and the intricate stone building of Alexandria Castle came into view. An enormous sword split the sky, breaking out through the center of the castle.

We were on the moat, in a small rowboat. An Alexandrian soldier was steering the boat in the back. It felt weird being this close to one without attacking one of them.

Zidane and Vivi were looking off at the castle as we approached the dock. Freya and Amarant had joined us as well, most likely at the other side of the moat. Freya was sitting quietly, almost like she was meditating. Amarant was looking away from the castle, like he didn't care what we were doing.

We came up to the dock after another minute. The soldier gave the boat one last push and it bumped against the wooden dock. A pair of soldiers threw ropes onto some short posts on the boat, tying it down so we could safely get off. We stepped off, one by one, and stood before the enormous castle door. It rose twenty feet above us.

"You know," I said. "I've never really here before. It's kinda weird."

I was true. When I dropped into Gaia, I fell straight into the water during the play. It felt like it happened so long ago. Years ago, even.

"What about the night of the play?" Zidane asked. "You'd have to have come this way if you left from the university."

I froze up nervously and looked at Zidane blankly for a moment. "I… I meant like this. Being invited in to see the queen, you know?"

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense," Zidane decided.

Suddenly, there was a scream. The castle doors creaked open and Steiner marched out, carrying Eiko by the wings on her back.

"Aaahhh! Leggo!" she screamed.

Steiner gladly complied by dropping Eiko flat on her ass.

"Ouch!" she complained. "This is no way to treat a lady!"

Steiner only frowned. "Quit screaming, or I'll throw you into the dungeon!"

"GAAAHHH!"

"What happened, Eiko?" Zidane asked.

"Zidane!" she cried out. She ran behind his legs and gave them a hug. "Oh, it was horrible! He called me a liar and a loudmouth and a brat!"

Amarant scoffed. "…He's right."

Eiko glared at the bandit. "What did you just say! Do you want to repeat that!"

"Man, I hate kids..."

It had been a while since I had seen Steiner. Despite his sullen demeanor, it was good to see that he was still in one piece.

"Hey Steiner," I said. "How've you been?"

"Hmph," Steiner said grumpily. "After you left, everything went downhill. Queen Brahne arrested Beatrix and myself and I had to sit in a prison cell again."

"Yeah, I'll bet that was comfy," I grinned. "No questions for me? I'm sure you were wondering what happened to the rest of us once we got out of the castle."

"The princess told us of everything that happened while you were away." His frown quickly morphed into a look of disdain. "How dare you leave the princess behind in that filthy, gargant-filled tunnel!"

"Huh?" I soon remembered what he was talking about. "You mean when the gargant ran off in Gargant Roo? I hardly had any control over that."

"Silence!" he scolded. "What are you all even doing here! This is a royal castle! You do not belong here!"

Steiner's attitude changed immediately when he saw Vivi standing right there in front of him. "Hello, Master Steiner," Vivi said.

"Master Vivi!" Steiner said with a smile. "A pleasure to see you again."

"We came here to see Dagger."

"The princess?" Steiner rested his head on his hand in thought for a moment. "Hmm… If that is Master Vivi's wish, I shall arrange a meeting. Follow me, but DON'T touch anything!" He pointed at Zidane, as if emphasizing his point. He took the first few steps into the castle as the rest of us followed.

Alexandria Castle was everything I expected it to be. It was almost a shame that I had never been in here before. Where Lindblum Grand Castle loved the color red, Alexandria Castle used plenty of white. There was a long, red carpet along a polished white floor. Large white pillars lined the front hall, as well as portraits of former rulers. Everything seemed ordered, pristine, and clean. The largest painting was of Brahne, placed on the far side of the hall. It was easily four times bigger than the other portraits. Probably to get all of her massive gut inside the frame. Aside from that one brazen flaw, the whole castle seemed to beat Lindblum's Grand Castle in aesthetics.

Steiner led us down the front hall and up some stairs to the Knights of Pluto guardhouse. Two of the knights were sitting in the room down the hall and didn't seem to give us a second glance. It made me feel so much better knowing Dagger was under the protection of a pair of negligent guards.

"You all wait right there!" Steiner ordered. There was a staircase leading upstairs to a balcony, connecting the royal chambers and the front hall. Steiner ran up the stairs and looked down at us from above. "Princess, we are ready."

A door on the right side of the balcony opened up, revealing General Beatrix. She walked out, looking as sullen as ever. Behind her, Dagger walked out, but instead of her regular orange jumpsuit, she was wearing a regal white dress, complete with blue frills and matching gloves and a tiara. It looked very regal and very expensive.

Garnet looked over us from the balcony like she hadn't seen us for months. "Thank you for coming, everyone."

Everyone was in awe, including myself. Dagger never really seemed like royalty to me before. Now I felt obligated to watch what I said. Swearing would probably get me exiled or something.

"She looks beautiful," Eiko whispered to herself. She bit her lip and glanced back to gauge Zidane's reaction.

"Wow… You look beautiful!" Vivi said.

"Very nice," I added.

"Splendid!" Freya said.

Dagger gave us all a sad smile for each compliment. She tried to look happy, but I could see her looking at Zidane, waiting for him to say anything.

Freya noticed Dagger doing it as well. "Zidane? Have you nothing to say?"

Zidane remained silent. He looked to Freya, then up at Dagger, then bashfully admitted, "…No."

Dagger couldn't hide her emotions very long after that. She looked down and frowned.

"Princess, we must go now," Steiner said dutily.

Dagger gave one last glace to Zidane. "…Alright."

Suddenly, Eiko yelled, "Dagger, wait!"

She ran up the stairs and began rapidly talking with Dagger.

Meanwhile, Vivi seemed concerned for our silent friend. "Why didn't you say anything to her, Zidane?" he asked.

Zidane struggled to find an answer. He finally replied, "I don't know… I tried."

"And?" Freya asked.

Dagger walked off, leaving the balcony clear. Steiner and Beatrix left with her.

Zidane walked to the wall and slumped down against it. "I couldn't say anything! I had a whole speech ready for her. But it would have been a lie! How could I lie to her! 'Good luck, Dagger! I'll be watching you from afar. Come find me if you need someone to talk to.' It's a big fat lie! That's not how I feel at all! That's not…"

Zidane stopped talking and sighed. Freya placed her hand on his shoulder and tried to console him. "Come on," she said. "We should get you out of here. Trevor, give me a hand, will you?"

"Sure," I said. I took Zidane by the other side and helped Freya get him to his feet.

"I'm fine," Zidane insisted. He shrugged us off and started to walk on his own.

"So what now?" I asked. "Dagger's stuck here being queen, and our days of merriment and adventure are over."

"We'll find something to do," Freya said. "Burmecia will need to be rebuilt. I should make my way there before too long."

"Sounds tough. Think you'll need me to give you a hand with anything?"

"Don't you have school?"

"Hey, I've missed this much of it. Why not just skip the rest of the semester?"

The truth was, even if I could attend Alexandria University, there was no way I was going to waste my time learning archaic basics in another world. Especially not when I could travel the world and use one-of-a-kind superpowers.

"Let's just head to the pub," Zidane said. "I think I need a drink."

The guards took little notice as we left. We got a few odd glances, but nothing dangerous. I recalled the fight in Lindblum briefly. Some of the Alexandrians called me a demon. Some of them seemed to stare at me exclusively. I just brushed it off as paranoia. It became so unsettling that when I saw a group of three soldiers that didn't notice me, I became instantly intrigued.

"So then, he turns around and tries to stab me," one soldier said.

"What did you do?" another asked.

"I ran him through, obviously. Dumb bastard fell at my feet."

A third soldier, who stood a head taller than the other two, cackled maniacally. "Just another dumb muskrat, huh?"

I stopped. It was a ridiculous insult, but one I had heard before.

_Fire flashed through my mind. Buildings lay in ruins and blood thickly coated the streets. What little I could hear over the screams and explosions didn't make me feel any safer._

_I was at the top of a staircase, looking down into a plaza. A collapsed building provided little cover against the battles raging throughout the city. Lindblum was a complete mess._

_And there, at the bottom of the stairs, was Dante, crawling towards me. He reached out for me, begging for help._

"_Trevor…!" he called out. His short brown hair was slicked with his own blood. There was a large, open wound on his side from when his bullet pouch exploded._

"_Dante, hang on!" I yelled. I wanted to run, but my feet didn't budge. For some reason, I couldn't move. I was paralyzed._

_Then, the worst happened. A tall shadow stood over Dante. I only watched in horror as an Alexandrian soldier reached down and grabbed Dante by the back of his shirt._

"_Pesky muskrat," the soldier said, just before she sunk her entire blade into Dante's gut._

"No!" I shouted. I instantly fell to my knees, earning me odd looks from my friends. Some of the castle soldiers were looking as well. I felt like an idiot.

"Trevor?" Freya asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm fine." It was a lie. I stared hard at the Alexandrian that had killed my friend. I was very far from fine.

I stood again. "Hey, you guys go on," I said. "I'll meet you at the pub."

"Are you sure?" Vivi asked. "You look tense."

"I just remembered something I have to do. Go on. I'll catch up."

"If you say so," Freya said. She and the others walked off, leaving me alone in the grand hall with the three soldiers chatting next to the wall. I snarled a little as I made my way to them.

The soldiers were still talking, as if they were totally innocent. "Yeah, it sucks that we'll have to give back the land we won in the war. Alexandria would have been rich what with everything we could do with Lindblum."

"Ugh, don't mention Lindblum," the tall soldier complained. "I hated that place. Too much screaming. It was pathetic."

I had heard enough. "Hey, you!" I said, pointing to the tall soldier. She just raised her eyebrow at me.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"You fought in Lindblum when Brahne attacked it, didn't you?"

"I don't think that's any of your—"

"Just answer the fucking question!"

The soldiers all looked at me like I was some deranged madman. They exchanged a glance before the tallest one answered.

"Yeah, I did. What's it to you?"

"And did you kill a man with a gun?"

"What the hell is a gun?"

I grit my teeth to keep myself in check. I didn't have the patience for this right now. "It's like a cannon, but handheld."

"Oh, that thing? Yeah, someone was attacking us with something like that. I just sent some black mages after him until one nailed him with a fireball."

A second soldier turned to her tall friend. "But you stabbed the guy too, didn't you?"

"Oh yeah," she said. "I guess I did." She turned back to me. "Why do you care? Did you know him or something?"

I nearly lost it. Memories of the disaster of Lindblum swam through my mind. Every fire, every death, every goddamned soldier getting in my way. I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I tried so desperately to contain my rage.

"_Trevor?_" Kaiten called out urgently. "_What's going on? Your entire subconscious is shaking. It's like a damn earthquake in here!_"

I fell to one knee, short of breath. I gripped my face tightly. My fingernails dug deep, cutting into the skin. A small trickle of blood dripped down my cheek. I desperately tried to control myself and keep my anger in check, but I felt a twinge of fear while I did.

I hadn't felt like this since high school.

"If you're asking if I felt pity," the Alexandrian soldier asked. "Then no. Anyone I crush isn't worth my time. Your _friend_ was just a waste of flesh."

My fingernails immediately clenched into a fist, scratching my face like a wild animal. I could feel the slick of blood crawling down my face and inside my nails. "You bitch," I snarled.

I snapped. Suddenly, faster than I could register, I grabbed the wretched soldier by the throat and pinned her against the wall. I held her in place with more strength than I thought I had while she clawed at my arm, desperate for me to let go. It was futile though. I had already made my decision.

"You killed Dante!" I shouted. I pulled out a short sword and positioned it to impale her.


	2. Who Am I?

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: So I've noticed that fanfiction has started getting rid of the dividers I use to separate sections in my chapters. I don't know when that started, but it seems to have affected a number of chapters, if not all of them. As such, I'll have to start using something else to separate them.

XXXXXXXX

Yeah, that'll do just fine.

Also, I know this chapter is a lot shorter than my other chapters, but it's still a good one. XD You'll see…

Chapter 2- Who Am I?

XXXXXXXX

"What are you doing?"

"Let her go!"

The two remaining soldiers surrounded me as the tallest struggled to breath. I only heard the soft clanking of metal as I tightened my grip around the tall soldier's throat.

Suddenly, the remaining soldiers pulled out their swords and pressed them harshly against my neck.

"Put her down!" one of them shouted. "You are under arrest!"

I gave her a sideways glance. "Are you kidding?" A well of energy gathered at the tip of my sword, forming an Explosion. "Go ahead and try it, but I'll just drop this sword. Close as you are, you'll die too."

One guard looked at me in disbelief. "How stupid do you think we are? I've never heard of magic like that."

But the other one gave the threat a little more credence. "No, I think I heard of this guy," she said with a hint of fear. "Some of the other squads in Lindblum called him the Dual-Wielding Demon."

"Dual-Wielding Demon?" the first scoffed. "It sounds like a horror story some bored private made up."

As irrelevant as their concern was, I wouldn't be able to move and kill the tallest soldier with these two pressing into my neck. I decided to take them down quickly.

I pulled back suddenly and parried the blades against my throat. One slid down my sword and was eaten away by the explosion. By the time it was pulled back, it looked like it had been through a rough acid bath, half gone and the tip melting. I pulled out my second short sword and aimed it at the second soldier. Both swords pushed out a Demon Saber and aimed it at their throats.

"Go ahead and try to run," I said. "If these so much as touch you, you die."

"You monster!" the tall soldier said as she caught her breath again. "You think you can come in here and start killing soldiers? Alexandria is the strongest country in the world! You'll be hunted down in no time!"

I stared back at her coolly. "You think you can just kill a mortally injured man as he's trying to run away and get away with it?"

"Who sent you? Burmecia? Lindblum? Did you come here just to assassinate me?"

"You're not important enough to assassinate," I said. "I'm just here to avenge a friend."

I moved to strike—

"Trevor! Stop!"

My blade halted, inches from the tall soldier's gut. I looked around for the unfamiliar voice and saw an old man walking towards me from the stairs. I thought of the old men from Dali for a moment, but then I looked again and realized that I knew this man.

He was the one who single-handedly saved Cleyra from Odin.

He looked different from before. He used to look collected and strong. Now he had grown more grey hair and had a tired look about him. Most notably was the eye patch he wore over his left eye. Something bad had happened to this man.

"Stand down, all of you," he ordered.

"But… Captain Delores," one soldier said. "This man assaulted us! He needs to be arrested!"

"You will do no such thing." Delores closed the gap and stood between me and the other two soldiers. "You two, leave, now. I assume our mysterious 'assassin' doesn't have any business with you." He turned to me. "Do you?"

There was a very commanding aura about this man. I felt like I had to instantly respect him. He did save Clerya, so I owed him something at least.

"No, I don't," I answered.

"Good. You two are dismissed."

"But sir—"

"I said dismissed!"

The two extra soldiers glanced at each other, unsure of what to do, before they saluted and ran off.

"That leaves you," the man, Delores said to the tall soldier. He took out a sword and pushed mine away, where it wouldn't harm anyone. I didn't resist and retracted the energy back into the blades. "Name and rank."

The soldier nodded and obeyed. "Lieutenant McGovern, sir!"

"Very well Lieutenant. What's going on here?"

"This bastard thinks I killed his friend!" the soldier said. "I mean, I might have, but it was in war and he was attacking us!"

"He was trying to run, you bitch!" I interrupted. Delores calmly held up a hand to silence me.

"So this young man ran in here and started attacking you?" Delores asked.

"Yes sir! You have to get rid of him!"

"I see." Delores turned to me. "What's your side of the story?"

"He doesn't get to have a side!" McGovern complained. "He needs to be arrested!"

Delores stared at her. For a man with only one eye, he gave a very frightening gaze.

"S…sorry sir," she said.

"As I said," Delores asked again. "What's your side of the story?"

I wasn't sure why this guy was giving me a chance to explain myself, or why I wasn't in chains already, but I wasn't about to complain about it. I sighed and put my short swords away.

"It started in Lindblum," I said. "Alexandria attacked the city and my friends and I tried to get through the city to safety. We almost got to the castle when this bitch attacked us. Dante, my friend, tried to hold them off, but was hurt by a black mage. As he was trying to run away, this bitch grabbed him and ran him through with a sword."

"It was war!" McGovern shouted. "He was attacking us!"

Instantly, I could tell Delores was on my side when he raised his sword to McGovern's throat. "Be silent until I tell you to talk."

McGovern stared wide-eyed at the blade and nodded.

Delores put his sword away and looked at both of us.

"Trevor," he began. "You must understand that war is war. People die constantly. It's a terrible facet of human nature, but if you attack those who hurt you, you only continue the cycle. Yes, you would avenge your friend if you killed Private McGovern, but then you would hurt her friends and family, and one of them might come after you. Where would you be then?"

"Excuse me, sir?" McGovern asked. "I'm a lieutenant, not a private."

"You were," Delores said. "The Alexandrian Army composes itself wisely and with grace. We can't have officers who bully their way around and kill unmercifully."

McGovern gave a look of shock as her rank was peeled away in an instant. "But you can't do that! I've given my life for Alexandria!"

"I'll present the necessary paperwork to General Beatrix in the morning."

"Then I'll just complain to her!"

Delores stood over her like a bear standing over a newly caught fish. "Let me be perfectly clear: I'm meeting her for morning tea."

"But… but…"

"Killing civilians goes against every war treaty Alexandria has ever signed. Consider yourself lucky that you're only being demoted."

McGovern looked like she was going to throw up. She put her hands on her knees to steady herself.

"We'll let her stay here," Delores said to me. "I want to talk to you privately. The castle garden is lovely this time of day. We'll talk there."

I wasn't fully aware of everything that was going on. I wasn't sure why I started following the captain, but he seemed like a good guy. I had some questions I wanted to ask him as well. He led the way down a corridor that didn't appear in game. Curiously, I followed.

"So, sorry to ask you this," I said. "But I'm pretty sure I saw you at Cleyra."

Delores chuckled. "You did. I was the captain leading the ground invasion just before General Beatrix intervened."

"Yeah… but you looked a lot better. No offence."

"None taken."

"So, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to your eye?"

Delores stopped and faced me. "This?" he asked, touching the leather patch covering his eye. "For defying her royal highness, I was tortured horribly. Every day before she left for the Outer Continent, I was stabbed, burned, sliced open, gouged, and picked at. You wouldn't believe the pain. Worst of all, Brahne ordered my eyes gouged out so that I would never have the pleasure of seeing my son again."

"Then, why do you still have one?"

"Because the torturer happened to be an old drinking buddy of mine, who took some pity on me. It seemed Brahne didn't care who got to hurt me, just as long as I screamed."

"But he still cut out your eye, right?"

"One of them, yes. Brahne didn't want to see the "surgery" done, so she just ordered the torturer to show her the results. He showed her one and claimed that he made me eat the other. She laughed quite a bit at that one. All I had to do after that was keep both of my eyes shut tightly and she never knew the difference."

I let out a disgusted grunt. Brahne was more of a bitch than I had taken her for.

"Ah, here we are," Delores said.

To my surprise, the hallway opened up to a beautiful open-air room outside. Lush green hedges lined rows upon rows of colorful flowers. There were several benches lined up along the hedges, allowing visitors to gaze upon the flowers. Most notable though was the fountain in the center of it all, flowing with crisp, blue water. The whole thing was like something out of a dream.

Delores stopped before the fountain and turned to face me.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" he said, cupping a nearby flower. "I can't even remember the last time you were here."

_What?_ I thought, giving him a look of confusion. _But I've never been here._

"It took a long time to track you down, and I don't know why you acted the way you did in Cleyra, but it's good to finally see you again, my son."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "…What?"

Delores moved to hug me, but I pushed him at the last minute and backed away.

Delores looked hurt. "Trevor, what's wrong?"

My heart started to race. Half from fear, half from confusion. I didn't like being in a situation where I wasn't sure what was going on, especially not since my every excuse for even being on Gaia had been a lie.

"I'm sorry," I finally said. "I think you have me confused for someone else. My father is…"

I stopped talking. What was I supposed to say? Someone else? A physicist? Someone from another world? None of the answers would stop more questions.

"You don't remember who I am?" Delores asked. He sat down on the lip of the fountain and frowned.

I just shook my head. "Sorry, but I've never met you before in my life."

Delores turned at me with a determined glare. "Then how do I know you have a scar running along your lower back?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I don't have a…"

As I pulled up my shirt and looked, I saw that there was indeed a scar running along my side, against my lower back. Somehow, I had never noticed it.

"What the hell?" I said, startled. "But that…"

My mind raced as I tried to find an explanation for the scar. I thought about every scratch, every cut, and every injury I ever received after I arrived in Gaia. I knew I didn't have the scar there before, but in every battle I fought, I never received a wound like that. I've had my foot crushed, my lung blasted open, and I had been slammed into too many walls to count, but I was never stabbed in the back like this.

"It was from when you were ten," Delores said, answering the dozens of questions floating around in my head. "You saw a man pick pocketing people on the street and ran to stop him. As brave as that was, you didn't know he had a knife. When you finally confronted him, he stabbed you and left you for dead." Delores let out a small chuckle. "I had never been more terrified in all my life."

I could feel my knees starting to go out from underneath me. I fell onto a bench and braced myself as best I could.

"It was truly a harrowing experience," Delores said. "After losing your mother, I couldn't bear to lose you."

I leaned forward until my head rested in my hands. Even in this world, I couldn't have a mother. My hands clenched as I cursed God, fate, and everything else that came to mind. But one thing still bothered me: how did this man know about a scar that I couldn't remember? Was I actually from Gaia? Was my time on earth a dream, or maybe the result of a blow to the head?

What the hell was going on?

"You seem… troubled," Delores commented.

"Sorry," I said again. "I'm having some trouble processing all of this. I didn't know… I mean, I thought that I was someone else." I shook my head. "No, that's not it. I just… don't know what's going on…"

"Hmm… I see," Delores said. "Perhaps it's amnesia?"

Amnesia again? Hadn't I already had enough of that for one lifetime? No, I was sure it was something else—something worse—but I was willing to go along with it to make things simpler. It would stop Delores from questioning me further.

"I dunno," I said. "I guess."

"That's too bad," Delores said. "I'm afraid I don't know what to do in order to cure that. But you're always welcome home when you feel you're ready."

Delores stood and dusted his pants off. "If you truly can't remember me, then I'm sure this is all some frightening mess for you. Come find me when you're ready to talk. I suspect that I won't be going anywhere for quite some time."

Delores left, patting me on the shoulder as he passed me. I just stared at the fountain, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do. I knew the entire storyline to Final Fantasy IX, and now all these things were crumbling down, making everything harder on me. Everything started involving me, making the storyline personal. Why was this happening? It felt like the sick toying of some madman.

The old men flashed briefly in my mind, then I remembered; it _was_ the sick toying from some madmen.

I stood and pulled out one of my short swords, watching it gleam in the sunlight. I still had a mission. I still had to find them, get them to explain what happened to me and why, get Kaiten his body back, then kill them.

I twirled the short sword in my hand as I left the castle.

XXXXXXXX

There was a long silence as I wandered the streets of Alexandria alone. I was glad that I remembered the town's layout. Getting lost in a city this size seemed really easy.

"_So, what's the plan?_" Kaiten finally asked.

_What are you talking about?_ I asked him. _Same as it's always been. We stick with the others until we get to Terra. Then we kill the old men._

"_That's not what I meant and you know it,_" he scolded. "_What about this Delores guy? He said he was your father._"

_That doesn't make it true._

"_Do you expect me to believe that you're not at least a little perturbed by all this?_"

_What's there to be worried about? Some guy who isn't my father claims to be my father. He's hardly imposing, so he won't be a concern._

"_And you're not the least bit curious to investigate what he's talking about?_"

I grunted. _You're the one who's always talking about being focused._

"_Sometimes, a short diversion can be worth it._"

_Not this time,_ I said, harsher than I meant it to be. _We need to find these bastards and kill them._

"_Fine. Just calm down._"

I sighed. _God, I need a drink._

"_But you don't drink._"

_Yeah, well I've been looking for an excuse to._

It was getting dark when I finally found my way to the pub. It was quieter than I had expected it, but there was still a happy din as I walked inside. Fires danced in lanterns over the bar, and one large one burned in the fireplace on the wall to the left. A drunk was passed out on a table right next to the door. That set a family-friendly theme right from the get-go. It made me wonder briefly why this place was called the Morning Start Bar.

Freya, Amarant and Vivi were hanging out by the bar. They gave me a friendly nod and I gave them a wave and took a seat next to them.

"Hey Trevor," Vivi said. "Did you take care of what you had to do?"

I thought of the tall soldier crying herself to sleep after such a demotion. It wasn't what I set out to do, but there was a certain sweetness in this revenge as well. "Close enough," I said, before I stared at the list of drinks.

The doors swung open and a short, nerdy looking guy walked in. He wore a top hat and a monocle, making him look like a simple noble. He also had a nice brown suit and a scruffy little beard. It took me a moment to recognize him as Doctor Tot, Dagger's teacher from when she was younger.

"Excuse me," Doctor Tot asked no one in particular. "Have you seen a young lady named Eiko?"

"Oh!" came a voice from a staircase next to the fireplace. "It's the nerdy guy!" Eiko stood and looked between the beams of the handrail. I was surprised that I had missed seeing her there.

Doctor Tot laughed. "You're as energetic as ever."

"Yup! I'm always energetic!"

"What'll ya have?" the bartender asked, showing up from nowhere. I didn't see him with Doctor Tot's entrance.

I took another glance at the list of drinks and ordered something called a 'Black Ale'. The bartender nodded and started pouring drinks together.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions about Madain Sari," Doctor Tot said. It was almost surprising how well voices traveled in this little room.

"Sure," Eiko nodded. "I'll tell you everything I know. You helped me out. But why don't we go to your place? We can relax there."

"To my home? My home is located in Treno. It's a bit far from here."

"Treno? Sounds like a cool place! I'm really interested in sightseeing! I wanna go there."

Before I could make a joke about Tot's horribly lengthy commute, the doors burst open.

"I'm coming with you!" said a grumpy-looking Zidane as he walked inside. "There's a card game tournament going on in Treno right now. I wanna participate."

Vivi snapped to attention at once. "A card game tournament? That sounds fun. I wanna go, too!"

Freya nodded. "I'd like to go, as well."

Amarant ran a finger along an old scar on his cheek in thought. "Treno, huh…?"

My drink arrived. I took a sip as I weighed my options. I knew Kuja's next move would be to attack Alexandria. I could stay and try to help everyone, but I most likely wouldn't be able to get into the castle, where the real damage was. I was only able to get in today because of a special request by Dagger. They definitely wouldn't let me in when everything was on fire. If I wanted to help, I'd need to follow the others to Treno.

"Screw it," I finally decided. "I'm going too."

Tot chuckled to himself. "Quite a party this is becoming. It would be my pleasure. We shall all go to Treno."

XXXXXXXX

Gargant Roo was eerily silent, just as before. Only this time, we weren't running away from the castle. We all made our way down to the platform and waited for the Gargant. A thick layer of mist still covered the giant bugs path in front of us.

"There's still Mist here," Zidane said.

Eiko swatted at some of it, blowing it around with her large sleeve. "Kinds looks like the Iifa Tree before we got rid of the Mist."

"I don't think the Mist is as dense as it was before," Vivi said.

Tot stroked his beard as he absorbed the information. "Yes, I heard that you all stopped the Mist. The Mist permeated through the roots, but it has nowhere to ventilate. That is probably why it still lingers here."

There was a far-off chirping sound coming from down the tunnel. As it came closer, the sound of nails striking wood came closer as well. The Gargant shortly appeared, walking upside down along a wooden track. It was probably a second Gargant since the last one ran away after we crashed it into the Pinnacle Rocks. Also, the carriage wasn't in disrepair, like the last one had been.

Doctor Tot threw a lever, which lowered a food tray in front of the giant bug. The Gargant chirped happily as it halted in place and started eating.

"...This is a gargant?" Freya asked.

"You've never seen one before?" Zidane asked.

I took out a short sword and pointed it at the Gargant. "Just try to run off early," I said, remembering the fiasco it created when it left without Zidane and Dagger as we made our escape out of Alexandria.

Tot looked at me curiously. "Is something the matter?"

I kept my swords pointed at the Gargant until I was sitting inside the carriage underneath it. "No," I said, putting my short swords away. "Just being paranoid."

"Very well then," Tot nodded. He jumped on board just as the Gargant finished eating. "Shall we?"

XXXXXXXX

This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Never have I written a character like Delores— someone who received so little screen time but made a huge impact. "Where's Delores?" "What happened to Delores?" "When are you bringing Delores back?" "I hope Delores is ok." are all comments I've received about him, even in chapters that didn't have anything to do with him. Well, I'm glad to announce that I've found a place for him in my story, this character I created on a whim, and he will be appearing more in future chapters. So rejoice. :D

Also, head over to the Official Shattered Mind Facebook page. This month's skit has been posted, as well as a bonus: chapter notes written in the style of director's notes. They reveal some of the thoughts and problems I had while writing. I think I might make it a usual thing.


	3. Crime Fighting Part 1

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: This chapter is a bit of an odd one. I had a long debate with myself about how I wanted to proceed in this part of the story. For a while, I wanted to keep Trevor in Alexandria during Kuja's attack, but then I realized that there was something new I could do for his character which could inadvertently affect his future. Not in a noticeable way right away, but it would still be a lot of fun to write.

I guess, in some ways, this chapter could be called filler. But then again, the point of the card tournament was to get everyone out of Alexandria, wasn't it?

Chapter 3- Crime Fighting

XXXXXXXX

Treno was not in any way a pleasant city to look at. More than half of it was made up of slums and a dirty river. What remainder of the city there was, was composed of low-end businesses and only a few mansions for the nobility. There was a hint in the air of rotting garbage and urine in the streets as we stepped into the dark Treno night. This city stank in more ways than one.

The gargant ride didn't take long, and I was glad that we didn't have to fight that giant snake-monster again. It surprised me that even a man as respected as Doctor Tot lived in such a shoddy tower. Some of the bricks of the walls were missing, exposing the spiraling stairway up to his small loft to the elements. Considering all he had done for the royal family, a guy like him should have had his own room somewhere on Alexandria Castle.

Gargant Roo exited in a trapdoor within Doctor Tot's tower. He lead the way up a rusted ladder bound to the wall and pushed open a door, letting everyone out. The good doctor's loft was a mess. Books were strewn left and right. Several scrolls were opened on his desk, as if they were left there in the middle of being read. Dust was starting to gather on a large telescope gazing up into the night sky on the far end of the room.

Amarant was the last one up the ladder. "I never know about this secret passage," he said.

"Yes," Doctor Tot said, starting to tidy up. He grabbed some books and moved them to a shelf. "I bought this tower because of this tunnel. I can study in peace here, and the tunnel makes my commute quite simple. I apologize for the lack of space."

"It's fine..." Amarant said.

"Why don't you just move to Alexandria?" I asked.

"It's too expensive, I'm afraid," Doctor Tot said. "I'm only hired to consult Alexandria's royal family part-time. I couldn't afford to live there and maintain my studies. I'm afraid that they are an expensive habit."

"Huh. Makes sense."

Eiko, who had been busy exploring the room and the horizon, ran up to Doctor Tot and tugged at his shirt. "Can we talk about Madain Sari later? I wanna go sightseeing."

"Oh, of course," Tot agreed. "There's no hurry."

Eiko turned around and glared at Vivi, who had been watching her. "What are you staring at? Let's go!"

Vivi raised an eyebrow, as best as a black mage could. "Wh-Who? Me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes, you! This is my first time in Treno. Show me around." Eiko grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him down the winding staircase and out the door at the bottom of the tower.

Freya took a breath of "fresh" air and started down the staircase as well. "Then I shall go, as well. I'll take this chance to relax."

Freya was down the stairs and out of sight in seconds.

Only Tot, Zidane, Amarant and I were left. "What about you, Amarant?" Zidane asked.

The hulking man just walked off without a word, back into his native city. I considered following him just so I could be near someone who knew the area, but he would probably kill me for that.

Zidane just shrugged. "I don't understand him."

"What's there to understand?" I asked. "He's odd and he'll fight for us. I say just let him do his thing."

Zidane crossed his arms in thought, as he often seemed to do. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I started down the stairs as well. "I'm gonna head out. I'll see you later Zidane."

"You don't feel like watching the card tournament?" he asked.

"Nah. Cards aren't really my thing. And I get bored when I have to stand around doing nothing."

Zidane shrugged. "Alright. I guess I'll see you later then."

"See ya."

The stairway spiraled twice before I reached the door at the bottom, but it was over a wide arc that looped inside the wide walls of the tower. It really felt like an old part of a castle in this city of slums. Maybe part of the city was formerly part of a castle which was torn down for simpler housing. I don't know. It might have been something interesting to check out someday.

The city opened itself up to me as I started down the cobblestone bridge. The entire city was cloaked in twilight. I looked over the river and even though it was dark out, I could see some shapes in the river below. I just hoped they weren't bodies.

I passed several people on the street as I wandered through town. Each looked at me with hungry eyes, noticing my expensive swords. I hid my money pouch inside my pocket. I didn't trust a single person in this city. The nobles were greedy and the poor were thieves. What was there to trust?

I had more than a few people try to approach me, probably so they could "accidentally" bump into me to steal my wallet. I kept my hands inside my pockets and my arms pressed against the hilts of my swords. It was bad enough that they were sticking out of the too-small sheaths.

As I walked, I somehow accidentally found my way into the red light district. I couldn't tell one street from another. The place was as bad as I thought it would be. Prostitutes strutted up and down the street, showing off their "goods" and giving me a few winks. I did my best to ignore them. They were annoying, more than anything else.

I wandered in no particular direction, just doing what I could to occupy my time. I tried to look out for some specialty store. Maybe there was a new piece of armor I could buy. I knew I was probably going to need it for some of the upcoming fights.

"Hey there," a voice called out. I looked up and saw a Burmecian leaning against a wall, dressed in silks which barely covered her chest. _Great,_ I thought. _Another hooker._

"You look bored," the Burmecian said. "Maybe I can give you something to do."

"No thanks," I said flatly and moved on.

However, the Burmecian was persistent. She grabbed my shirt by its sleeve and turned me around in place.

"C'mon, what's a little fun now and then?" she hinted, leaning in as if to kiss me.

I supposed she was attractive, by Burmecian standards, but the city left me in a bad mood, and I really didn't feel like catching any diseases from a prostitute. I just pushed her away. "No offense, but if I didn't hire any of the humans before, why would I hire you?"

"Please?" she asked, getting desperate. She had a sad look in her eye, as if she was being genuine. "I really need to get paid."

"I said no." I twisted my arm around her wrist and pulled myself free. I walked away, muttering to myself about how wretched this entire city was. I barely made it ten feet before I felt a long blade press against my neck. I glanced back and saw the prostitute holding a polearm against me.

"I am sorry to do this," the Burmecian said. "But this is a robbery. I really need your money."

I glared back at her. "You must be really desperate if you're going to these lengths. What's the matter? Is your pimp in a bad mood today?"

"Very few Burmecians travel to Treno," she said. "And most of the humans here try to avoid me. I don't like picking fights, but I'll do whatever I have to in order to protect—" She stopped mid-sentence. "Never mind. Just give me your wallet."

"A hooker whoring herself out to protect something?" I asked. "That sounds suspect."

She let me have it with a strike from the polearm onto my shoulder. She moved so quickly, I didn't have time to react. If I didn't have my armor on, she would have really cut deep.

Fortunately, the armor did enough to distract her. "Huh? Why are you wearing that?"

I sighed. "At least I have something to do now."

In a flash, I ripped a short sword from its sheath and deflected her weapon. I faced her, drawing the second blade and adopting a defensive fighting stance. I knew from practice matches that using swords against a polearm gave me a distinct disadvantage in range. All she had to do was stay light on her feet and she would win. Of course, all I had to do was get inside her range once, then I would win.

I wished it was that easy. I took a breath to calm myself.

"I don't like fighting like this," the Burmecian said. "Just give up now and you can walk away unharmed."

"I could tell you the same," I said.

The Burmecian sighed and lowered her weapon. For a moment, it looked like she was giving up.

"Forgive me," she said, just before she lunged.

The first strike was low, aimed at my ankles. I had to jump to avoid it, but she still nicked the heel of my shoe. It was enough to twist me off balance. I fell onto my back, just in time to see her blade coming down at my face. I crossed my swords in front of myself, catching her attack at the last possible second.

She forced the polearm down on me with surprising strength. I knew I had to get her off of me before she decided to simply skewer me and be done with it. I concentrated for a moment and charged up an Explosion. The Burmecian saw the growing energy and backed off before I could destroy her weapon.

"What kind of magic is that?" she asked.

"Mine and mine alone," I said. I smashed the tip of the blade into a nearby wall. It exploded on contact, sending smoke and chunks of bricks into the air. "Still want to fight?"

She didn't speak. Her only answer was to charge forward again and attack in a staccato assault. Her blade swished through the air with amazing grace and speed. It was all I could do to keep up with her, deflecting only at the last second. Her silk dress flickered and danced like a ballerina's dress. This woman had training, and lots of it. Her attacks were so rapid and precise that I didn't even have time to charge up any Chi attacks. I could have kicked myself for not powering up some Demon Sabers when I had the chance.

I had to get away, to give myself a chance to power up or to make her trip up somehow. If only I could be so lucky.

I took a step back, still giving the rest of my attention to the barrage in front of me. The Burmecian stepped with me. I slowly backed away, but the Burmecian matched my pace. Every move was calculated to give me just enough room to retreat, but not enough to counter.

My energy was beginning to run low after a minute of this. I nearly gave up hope until I noticed the Burmecian was running low as well. Suddenly, I had an idea. I took another step back, but this time it was longer than the last few. As I had hoped, the Burmecian tried to match the step.

In a desperate bout, I created an opening. I swung my short sword wide and to the side, just as she came in to attack. My parry knocked her off guard, giving me the chance I had hoped for. I leaned in, breaking through her guard and getting in close enough that she couldn't use her polearm to defend herself.

"Dragon pommel!" the Burmecian yelled.

She flicked the butt end of her polearm at me. It wasn't enough to hurt me, but I was hit by a wave of energy. It shaped into a dragon briefly, then exploded in my face. I was so surprised, and the attack hit me so fast, that I was knocked off my feet and hurled backwards. I landed hard and most of the air was knocked out of my lungs.

When I was aware enough of my surroundings again, I opened my eyes to see the Burmecian standing over me with her polearm only inches away from my face.

"That attack…" I thought for a moment. The gears started to turn as I analyzed what had just happened. A Burmecian, armed with a spear, had just launched a wave at me in the shape of a dragon. My eyes opened wide. "You're just like Freya! You're a dragon knight!"

The Burmecian backed off at once. She blinked in confusion, as he polearm dropped harmlessly to her side.

"How… How do you know Freya?" she asked.

"She's a friend of mine," I said. I got up cautiously. She could still try to kill me at any second. "She uses techniques just like the one you did."

"Freya's your friend?" the Burmecian asked. She tugged at the cloth around her chest. It had slipped a little in our battle. I was surprised she was good enough not to let such brittle material fall off during heavy fighting like that. I was lucky that I wasn't dead.

"I haven't seen Freya in so long…" the Burmecian said. "How's she doing? Is she alright? Is she still looking for Sir Fratley?"

"Easy," I said. "One question at a time."

"Sorry. I guess I've been on my own for too long. Hearing about an old friend got me a little excited." She picked up her polearm and rested it on her back. "So how do you know Freya?"

I picked up my short swords and sheathed them as I answered. "Through a mutual friend at the Festival of the Hunt in Lindblum. We entered together. Once it was over, we heard about the attacks on Burmecia, we headed out to help. …We were too late though."

"Oh, I see." The Burmecian sat against the wall, saddened by the news. "I remember that day. So many people died. I did what I could against those… horrid monsters, but it wasn't enough. In the end, I couldn't save that many people. We were overwhelmed."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. I walked over and offered her a hand up. She just looked at me.

"You would forgive me after I attacked you?" she asked.

"You're a friend of a friend," I said. "Besides, you seem like a good person. You wouldn't attack me unless you had good reason to."

The Burmecian shook her head at me. "You're a confusing one," she said, grabbing my hand.

I helped her back to her feet. "By the way, my name's Trevor. Nice to meet you."

The Burmecian shook the hand she was still holding. "Likewise. My name's Seki."

I thought for a moment. The name Seki sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. After a moment, I decided it was irrelevant and ignored the feeling.

"You know, Freya's in town as well," I said. "If you want, I can help you look for her. I'll bet she'd be glad to see you again."

"No, I couldn't," Seki said. She turned away and faced the wall. "I can't let her see me like this. I used to be among the best of the Dragon Knights. Now I'm just a common whore."

I felt bad for Seki, but I could understand why she felt the way she did. "Alright, we don't have to. I just though she might want to see you."

Seki shook her head. "Maybe later. I just don't have any other clothes. After Burmecia was destroyed, I—"

Seki was interrupted by her growling stomach. She patted it to quiet it down, but it didn't do much.

I felt for my money pouch, still in my pocket. "How about we get some food? There has to be something around here, right?"

Seki shook her head again. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't have enough money for food."

"My treat then. You sound like you need it."

Seki's stomach growled again. "I suppose that fight took more out of me than I thought. I guess I don't have any choice."

"Very good," I said with a genuine smile. "Why don't you choose the place? I don't know anything around here."

"There's a small place I know of down the street," Seki said. She picked up her spear and led the way. "Come on."

XXXXXXXX

Seki's choice of restaurant was a small shack just along the river. There wasn't much to it. There was one small room with only a few seats. There was no front door, or even a front wall. The place didn't look very clean, but then again, what did in this city? There was a sign on the wall that said the fish was caught fresh from the river every morning. I immediately decided on the soup. Seki had a burnt steak, a salad on the side, and some wine. I quickly regretted treating her.

"And after we rescued the princess, Freya said she would stay behind to fend off any more Alexandrians," I said, regaling Seki of some of my adventures. Of course, she was only interested in the ones about Alexandria or Freya. "She must have caused a huge mess. I bet they're still cleaning the blood off the walls."

Seki laughed. It looked like she hadn't done so in the longest time. It was good to see.

"That sounds like the Freya I knew," she said. "She always said she would die fighting in some big battle. 'To be forgotten is worse than death.' She always used to say that when we were training in the barracks."

"Is that why she became a Dragon Knight? So people would remember her?"

"No, I think that was just a saying she learned from her parents. She signed up to be closer to Sir Fratley."

"And what about you? Why did you sign up?"

Seki smiled. "Partly to help people. Partly for the same reason as Freya."

"I see. And is he still around?"

"I don't know, and I don't care." Seki took a sudden sip of her wine. "I went to surprise him one day. Instead, he surprised me. In bed. With some army bitch that I didn't know."

"Ah. Sorry to hear that."

"You should have seen him afterwards. I was so mad that I twisted his… well, it's probably not proper dinner conversation. Last I heard though, he still couldn't walk straight."

"I… see."

I crossed my legs protectively.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, what happened after Burmecia?" I asked. "How did you wind up in Treno?"

Seki took another bite of her steak. She was starting to slow down, but she wasn't even halfway through her meal. She grabbed a passing waiter by the sleeve. "Can I get another one of these?"

The waiter looked curiously at her, then at me.

"It's alright," I said. "I can cover it."

"Very well," the waiter said. "But next time to need to lure in a girl, please don't use our restaurant."

I looked at him for a moment, then my eyes narrowed. "I am NOT a pimp!"

"Whatever you say." The waited walked off into the kitchen.

"I hate people," I muttered.

"Sorry about that," Seki said, taking another bite. "I haven't had a meal this good since Burmecia."

"Right," I said. "You still didn't answer my question."

"Which was?"

"How did you wind up in Treno?"

Seki sighed and set her fork down. "It was the only place to go. Gizamaluke's Grotto was full of those monsters. The magic users that Alexandria used."

"The black mages."

"Yeah, those. Well, Lindblum was out, so we had to turn around and head towards the North Gate and find refuge in Alexandria. There were a few guards, but they were easy enough to dispatch."

"And Treno was the best place for refuge?"

"Yup," Seki said with a nod. "It was out of the mist, but large enough for us to hide in. The army never comes out this far, so they wouldn't come looking for us. As dangerous as this city is, it was the safest place to hide."

I had to carefully dance around my next question. "And… that led to you doing… this, because…?"

"Becoming a prostitute?" she said, completing my question. She glanced off into town, then back at me. "Once that second steak gets here, there's something I have to show you."

XXXXXXXX

Seki never finished dinner. Instead, she bagged the one and a half steaks and the rest of her salad as we took off from the restaurant. My first guess was that she just wanted to save some of it for future meals, but since the refrigerator hadn't been invented in Gaia yet, I wasn't sure what she hoped to accomplish.

"It's not much further," Seki said as she led me down the streets, deeper into the slums than I would have liked.

"Where are we going?" I asked for the fourth time that night. Seki, once again, ignored me.

"It's around this corner," she said. She was quiet. I almost didn't hear her.

We rounded the corner, passing a man eating out of a trashcan and a haggard old woman shivering under a blanket, possibly from drugs. The street ended at a bleak, grey door that was barely hanging on its hinges. There was a small light coming from under the door. Seki carefully knocked on the door three times, then once, then two times. It was a code. After several seconds, the door creaked open.

A young Burmecian kid was standing in the doorway, still holding the handle.

"Seki?" he asked. "I'm hungry."

"Sorry Wenzlo," Seki said. "I didn't mean to be so late."

The kid, Wenzlo, looked to the side and saw me. He yelped, then backed behind the door, trying to shut it closed.

"Hey, hey!" Seki said, forcing the door open. "It's ok."

"But he's an Alexandrian!"

"No, no he's not. He's an old friend of mine from Lindblum."

"Lindblum?" Wenzlo stopped pushing on the door and stood back. He looked me up and down, stopping to look at my short swords. "Are you really from Lindblum?"

Seki gave me a look, telling me I better say yes. She didn't even have to.

"Yeah, I am," I said. I held out my hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Wenzlo took my hand apprehensively. We shook briefly.

"Are you here to help us?" he asked.

"Us?" I asked. "There's more of you?"

"Wenzlo," Seki interrupted. She handed him the bag of food. It was still warm. "Take this to the others. Share with them before it gets cold."

"Food!" Wenzlo shouted happily. "Guys, food!" He grabbed the bag and rushed deeper into the apartment. I could hear a few other children cheering in joy. Wenzlo looked thin. Feeding all these kids must have been a challenge.

"There were eight of us," Seki said sadly. She took a step inside and grabbed a robe from the wall. She wrapped it around herself to cover herself up. "Myself, another soldier named Grex, and six kids."

"So you keep all of the kids here?" I guessed.

Seki folded her arms tightly. She looked away, trying to avoid the question.

"What about Grex? Where's he?"

"He didn't make it," Seki said quickly. She sighed and leaned against the wall. "Grex was an old friend of mine. When we decided to evacuate Burmecia, I gathered everyone that I could. Between the two of us, Grex and I found a good number of survivors. However, as we were leaving, these two small jesters got in our way. We realized too late that they were leading the black mages. Grex tried to get everyone out while I fought them off, but there were too many. By the time the chaos had died down, we lost everyone, except the six children. Grex and I led the kids with everything we had. Through the North Gate and through the mist, we fought with everything we had to keep them safe."

I stayed silent as Seki told her story. I could tell the bad part was coming up.

Seki took a deep breath and continued. "We didn't have much trouble until we neared Treno. We only had to put up with a few monsters up until then, and there were only a few guards at the North Gate. However, we were so tired when we got to Treno, and so relieved when we saw the lights of the city that we didn't notice the giant spiders until it was too late." 

"Giant spiders?" I asked. I hated bugs enough as it was. Just imagining a swarm of giant spiders made my skin crawl.

"They grabbed two of the children first," Seki said. The way she spoke, I thought she was going to be sick. "I tried to protect the remaining kids and get them away while Grex rushed to save the two that had been taken. But it was a trap. The spiders came from everywhere… The bushes, the trees, and they swarmed all over him. He must have taken out a dozen of them before they finally wore him down. All I could hear was him screaming for me to get the kids out of there… so I ran. We never stopped running until we were inside the city."

"That's terrible," was all I could say at first. "But it's amazing that you were able to save the kids. You should be proud of that."

"Yeah," Seki scoffed. "But imagine my surprise when I found out that Treno was an even worse city than I imagined. Children need food, so I had to get a job here. I had hoped that I could join the army here, or maybe become a noble's bodyguard, but since Treno is a part of Alexandria, they all had prejudices against Burmecians. It wasn't until I found a man named Jonathan Bigsley. He offered us a place to stay, and offered me pay."

"As long as you became his prostitute, right?"

Seki nodded.

It was a horrible story. One that Seki was still recovering from. She shouldn't have to lead this kind of life. So many problems went into this that it wasn't even funny. I took a moment to try to find a lighter side to this. I don't know why I thought there would be, but after a moment, I realized something.

"Wait," I said. "The Alexandrian War is over! You can go home back to Burmecia any time you want."

Seki just glanced up at me. "Assuming that I could," she began. "Assuming that I had a safe way to transport these kids, and that we would be able to survive in Burmecia, I can't."

"Why not?" I asked. "If it's about money, I might be able to help. I know the Regent of Lindbulm, and the Queen of Alexandria is a good friend of mine. I'm sure at least one of them could spare an airship to help you."

"You don't get it!" Seki shouted. "Even if I wanted to leave, I can't!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Why the hell not? What could possibly keep you here?"

Seki sank back into the wall, then slowly slid to the floor. "When Bigsley 'employed' me, he took one of the children, a girl named Bri. He said that he would look after her and give her extra special care, but it was really to keep me in the city and to stop me from escaping. If I try to leave or fight him, he'll kill her. I've seen too many children die already."

I heard her say her words in a defeated desperation, but I was more confident. I smiled as I stretched my arms back. "Alright, then we'll just have to rescue her, right?"

Seki looked at me like I was a madman, preaching about the end of the world. "Didn't you just hear me? Bigsley will kill her if I try to save Bri!"

"Then we'll kill him first," I said. "He won't be expecting someone like me, will he?" I twirled a short sword to emphasize my point. "Or, did you forget our little fight earlier?"

Seki was silent, as if she were judging my idea and how to act on it. She finally shook her head. "No, it won't work. I've only met the guy once, and I don't know where his hideout is. He always sent his minions out to find me and collect what money I earned."

"Middlemen," I said. "Perfect. We'll beat the information out of him and run a surprise attack on his little fort. It's as close to a perfect plan as we can get!"

Seki looked at me again, unsure of what to really think. "Do you really think we can pull this off?"

"Sure," I said. "What's a handful of thugs compared to a Dragon Knight and an insane college student?"

Seki shook her head. "So, this is what I've been reduced to? Fighting a pimp so I can redeem myself?"

"Better to die on your feet than live on your knees," I told her.

Seki chuckled before she stood. "Damn it all. I would rather see these kids grow up proudly in Burmecia, rather than in squalor in Treno."

"So, are you in?" I asked.

Seki nodded as she grabbed her spear. "Let's do it."

XXXXXXXX

Sometimes, it's the oddest chapters that become the most fun to write. Maybe I'm just becoming adept at creating new characters, but Seki was a lot of fun. I'm sure many of you remember her original reference, even though it was such a long time ago. This chapter ended up being much longer than I thought it would be. I had to eventually cut it into two parts. But, oh well. You know the next chapter's going to be fun as hell, like so many others. XD

Also, there is a deleted scene too graphic to show that I had to pull from this chapter. However, I really liked it and the emotion that went into making it, so I didn't simply get rid of it. It's on the facebook page for the people who signed up. Look for it under the notes section.

Until then, I'll see you guys next month. :D


	4. Crime Fighting Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: Hmm… Well, the last chapter seemed to have been plagued by a very small amount of reviews. Whether people didn't like the direction the story was going or just didn't know about it, I don't know. As always though guys, more reviews help promote the quality of my work here, so more reviews are in fact a good thing. :D

Also, to my fellow writers, I was recently directed to an interesting site. There's not much to it, but it analyzes a portion of your writing to determine which famous author you write like. I'm proud to say that I apparently write like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ^^ Here's the link.

http:/ iwl (dot) me/

Also, bonus points go to whoever finds the Expendables reference that I left in this chapter. If you haven't seen The Expendables yet, what's wrong with you? :D

Chapter 4- Crime Fighting (Part 2)

XXXXXXXX

The meeting point was a dark corner in the middle of the slums. A small lantern was the only source of light, which made look out duty even more frustrating. Seki was busy playing the part of the bait, standing underneath the lantern trying to look helpless and weak, but I could see a definite fire in her eye. The thrill of the fight. I just watched her from the roof of the one-story building across the street.

"Try not to look so excited," I said. "You might give the plan away."

"Not with 'Truffles'," she explained, using the ridiculous name of her contact with Bigsley. "The man's an idiot. He only sees women and money. He knows nothing of battle or the danger therein."

"If you say so."

"Quiet! You'll blow our cover."

I sat in the shadows in silence for several more minutes. A few people strolled by, and an old woman came by asking for change, but none of them were 'Truffles'. Eventually, I got bored and started fidgeting with a short sword.

"_Trevor,_" Kaiten spoke up eventually. "_Are you sure about this plan of yours? If you screw up, this kid will die._"

_Everything will be fine,_ I said. _We'll beat this guy for info, find this Bigsley guy, then beat the crap out of him or kill him._

"_And you don't think that's a tad extreme?_"

_Not if he's exploiting people._

"_And you won't let the cops handle it?_"

_What cops? Besides, if there are cops around here, Bigsley probably thought ahead of that and has a few of them on his payroll. Maybe even a judge._

"_I dunno. I'm just not sure about your attempts at vigilantism. This could horribly backfire._"

_Thanks for the concern. We'll be fine._

"_Whatever. Just keep your heads up. I think someone else is coming._"

I looked down to the street and saw a scrawny little man walking up towards Seki. He had a wide gait and acted like he was on top of the world with his obnoxious little smirk. His arrogance was nearly palpable. My first thought was that he did it in spite of his receding hairline, but maybe it was because he just thought he had a power over Seki.

I couldn't wait to thrash him.

"Seki," the scrawny man said with fake generosity. "Do you actually have something for me tonight?"

"No Truffles," Seki said, playing her part brilliantly. If I didn't know she was a Dragon Knight, Seki would have just come across as another helpless victim of circumstance. "I'm sorry. Please don't tell Mr. Bigsley!"

"Another night with no money?" Truffles said with an evil grin. "My, my. You know how bad that is for business."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I'm going to have to tell Mr. Bigsley about this."

Seki's face turned to one of shock and horror. "No, please! I'll do anything!"

"Oh really?" Truffles said. He stroked his chin in thought, pretending to think. "Well, in that case, I think we can work something out." He reached up and grabbed Seki's chin, forcing it to the side, inspecting her like a dog. "Yeah, I have an idea. Get into the alley. And take your skirt off."

Seki hesitated for a moment. She glanced up at me, giving me a sharp glare, just before she turned and walked down the alley. Truffles chuckled to himself and started to follow, undoing his belt as he walked.

I knew Seki didn't even need a weapon to kill someone like Truffles, but I didn't want to leave her without backup. As soon as Truffles disappeared into the dark alley, I stood and leapt down from the roof, short sword already in hand. I only made it a few steps though before I heard a startled yelp. I walked into the alley, only to see Truffles stuck in a headlock and his pants around his ankles.

"Let go of me you crazy bitch!" he protested. "Bigsley is gonna hear about this! I swear—AAAHHHHHH!"

"Shut up," Seki said, dropping Truffles to the ground. The scrawny gangster just gripped his recently broken finger.

"Well, I can see I was needed," I joked.

"Pent up rage," Seki said. "I've been dealing with these scumbags for far too long."

"So I see."

Truffles was busy rolling around on the ground in anguish. "What the hell?" he demanded. "You'll pay for this! Bigsley is gonna kill that little bitch rat of yours!"

Seki shut him up with a well-placed kick to his gut.

After Truffles spent a good two minutes coughing and gasping for breath, I bent down and used my knee to pin him in place. He just stared at me in terror. The short sword resting against his throat helped.

"Alright," I began. "We need to know where your boss hides out. You're going to tell us. Got it?"

Truffles seemed like he was going to crap himself for a moment. Then he smiled. "Or else what? You'll kill me? Good luck getting information out of me then."

I gave him a sharp punch to the teeth. He struggled some more and moaned in pain as his mouth started to fill with blood.

"Tell me," I said. I held up the sword above his head, ready to strike.

"Screw you!" he said, spilling blood as he spoke. "Whatever you do to me, Bigsley can do worse! I hope he makes that bitch rat baby suffer before he kills her."

I nearly lost control of myself. I raised my sword, intent on striking him in the skull with the cross-guard while a dark voice deep within me pushed me forward.

**Go on,** it said. **It doesn't deserve to live.**

And I nearly killed him too. I swung the blade hard, but it wasn't until the last second that I heard something else within me to stop. I pulled back just in time, barely giving Truffles more than a bruise on his forehead. I stopped and stared in awe for a moment.

_What the hell was that?_ I wondered.

Truffles, however, saw this act of mercy as a victory for himself. He laughed behind his blood stained teeth.

"You see?" he choked out. "I knew you couldn't do it! You better run too before I get back to the boss and tell himaaAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

I couldn't kill Truffles, but I didn't have any problem with breaking his arm. He clutched his limp and useless forearm as it bent unnaturally. His cries came in short, stiffed whines. I would have been impressed with his resilience if my patience with him wasn't already shot.

"He's certainly making noise now," Seki said flatly.

I stood and stepped on Truffles' stomach, pressing down hard to get his attention. He stared up with a look of terror upon his face. I held a short sword near his face and extended a Demon Blade.

"You're going to tell me where to find your boss," I said in the darkest tone that I could. "Or else I'm going to sever your other arm. You will slowly bleed to death in this dirty alley alone. Talk. NOW!"

I dug the Demon Blade into the nearby wall, cutting into it like fresh butter. I split the wall apart slowly approaching Truffle's arms. It was almost like a scene out of a James Bond movie, with the laser slowly approaching the tied up hero which would cut him to pieces. My sword didn't even make it halfway before Truffles gave in.

"Alright, alright! I'll talk!" I hesitated for a moment, then pulled the sword away. Truffles spat out another mouthful of blood before he spoke. "Go to the Noble's district. There's a store there called Mallory's. He works out of the back there."

"Hold on!" Seki interrupted. "Where is he holding Bri?"

"I don't know! I'm only paid to collect money from the whores!"

I started up another Demon Saber. This time, it started between his knees and worked upwards.

"Waitwaitwait! He has a small house at the edge of town! It has an orange wall. It's the only one around like it! I think he's holding her there!" Truffles was close to crying. Whether it was out of fear of his boss or of me, I didn't know. Or care.

"Smart move," I said. I retracted the Demon Saber and sheathed my blade. Seki seemed satisfied and grabbed her polearm from behind a tall box. "Shall we?" she asked.

I just nodded and stepped off of Truffles. Seki passed his limp body, then stopped. She turned slightly, only to smash down on his family jewels before leaving the alley. "We're done here," she said. "Let's go save Bri."

I gave Truffles one last look as he clutched himself in silent pain between his legs. I just shrugged it off and left.

Seki was moving quickly through the streets, but slow enough that I could catch up.

"Trevor," she said when I finally caught up. "I want to thank you for your help back there, and in what we're about to do."

"Don't worry about it," I told her. I didn't enjoy it, but there was a certain pleasure in helping someone through brutality. "We just need to stop Bigsley, then save Bri, right?"

"Yeah, but are you sure you can handle this? It's going to get pretty violent."

"Sometimes, violence is the only answer."

Seki nodded in understanding. "Then let's not hesitate. I won't rest until Bri is safe."

We picked up the pace, running through the streets as quickly as we could.

XXXXXXXX

The citizens of Treno didn't seem to really notice a long-haired swordsman or the scantily-clad Burmecian as they dashed into the Noble's District. At least, not by any of the lower class citizens wandering aimlessly around the streets leading up to the district. We got a few odd stares from some well-dressed nobles though. However, one glance at our weaponry and they decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

"Where is this place?" I asked. "It all looks the same! All shine and no taste."

"I've never been here," Seki admitted. "Just keep an eye out for something. Maybe there's a big sign outside the shop."

I saw a few familiar spots from the game. The store where Dagger stole the Supersoft from, and the mansion belonging to the duck lady who collected the Stellazio coins. Neither did anything to help our search though. I was about to give up when Seki got an idea.

"Enough of this," Seki said. "Wait here. I'm going to scout ahead."

"How will that help?" I asked. "We've been doing that for almost half an hour now."

"Just stay right here."

Before I could object, Seki took a quick run and leapt at the nearest building. She cleared the two-story building and landed on the roof, running down it and out of sight. All I could do was fold my arms and mutter jealous comments about Burmecians being able to jump like superheroes.

I had to wait several minutes until anything really happened. A few nobles walked by, looking at me like I was an out-of-place ragamuffin. I was glad when Seki appeared over the rooftops and dropped down on the street in front of me again.

"Found it," she said. "There's a path out by the river. It bends along and turns into another street. It's just on the other side of these buildings."

"Why didn't we see it before?" I asked.

"It's hidden around one of the buildings. It's not very big."

"Why would they bother having a path like that in the noble's district?"

"Either because of shady business or because whoever works there doesn't want anyone to know about what goes on."

I didn't really care about the reason. All that mattered was that some psychopath was keeping a kid as a hostage.

"What are you doing?" Seki asked. She was already standing by the small pathway. It looked like she was going to fall into the river. "Come on! We have to go!"

I took off behind her. We both ran around the edge of the river. I wondered once more that night about how clean the river really was. I just shimmied by the buildings, preferring not to fall in and catch some random disease.

"There it is," Seki pointed with her spear when we cleared the other side of the building. The pathway here was as wide as the rest of the noble's district, but not nearly as clean. There was a small fountain in the middle about halfway down the street. It looked like it hadn't worked in years. Then I noticed the dingy looking store named Mallory's. I thought briefly about the creepy looking saloons that I had seen in some old western movies.

"Alright," I said. "Any idea how many thugs he has?"

"Anywhere between ten and twenty," Seki said. "Be on your guard."

I unsheathed both short swords and twirled them once. "Won't be a problem."

Stepping inside, Mallory's really completed the run-down appearance that it started outside. The room was dark even for Treno, and there was some low, ominous music coming from a piano across the room. As my eyes adjusted, I could see several people sitting along a bar, drinking booze out of dirty glasses. They looked like a bunch of cutthroats. There were also a dozen men sitting at tables scattered throughout the room. My first guess was that this store was still around due to fear from the tenants. The nobles wouldn't dare cross them.

"Well this is a sleezy looking place," I muttered to Seki.

She took one look at me, then walked into the room. Her polearm rested comfortably and readily on her shoulder.

"Attention scumbags and lowlifes," she announced to the room. Every angry eye in the room turned and looked at her. "We are looking for a man named Bigsley. We understand that he works out of this bar. Any help any of you can give would be greatly appreciated."

"Yeah, I'll give you a help!" one rather uneducated man yelled from the crowd. "Right into my bed!"

The room exploded into a roar of laughter. Several glasses clanked together and the low-rent party continued.

"That worked out well," I said sarcastically.

Seki pulled her polearm into an attack position. "Remember what you said about violence being the answer?"

I brought my short swords up. "Yes I do."

"How about you take the six at the bar and I'll get the twelve on the right?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "You're not that fast. I'll take the six at the bar and then help with the crowd at the tables."

"I _am_ that fast," Seki corrected me. "The only thing faster is light."

"Heh," I chuckled. "We'll see."

Suddenly, one of the thugs from the bar walked up like he was king of the place. "Why don't you get the hell outta here?" he said, looking at me. "We'll take good care of your friend here." He started to reach for Seki. I saw her arm twitch, but I beat her to the attack. I sank my short sword into the man's gut. It wasn't enough to kill him, but he looked down and saw how badly he was bleeding. A twist of the blade made him fall and stay down.

"One," I smirked.

"Remember, try to go for non-lethal attacks," Seki said.

"Hey!" one of the thugs yelled. "They just killed 'Eye Drops'! Get 'em!"

Before I could ask why all these thugs seemed to have such stupid names, the remaining thugs stood up from the bar and rushed us. They all seemed to tower over us, giving indication that this wasn't going to be as easy as I would have liked. Seki and I broke into action at once.

I flanked left, heading for the lot coming from the bar while Seki went right. The first thug just reached out to grab me. Although I could have easily cut off his arms with a Pulse, I decided to take the kinder route by slicing my way past his arms and slamming my crossguard into his front teeth. He went down, gripping his mouth in agony.

The next three tried to surround me. They had already had a few drinks, so their actions were slow and inaccurate. One ran behind me and tried to swipe at me. I stepped forward to avoid it, but another thug grabbed me in a bear hug.

"Hi," he smiled. His breath stank of stale whiskey.

"Alright," I said, accepting his taunt as a plea for me to kill him. "If you insist."

As the man tried to crush me, I tilted a short sword up and powered up a Pulse. It released, skimming along his backside and cutting off a chunk of flesh. The other thugs in the room stopped for a moment, watching in a mixture of horror and surprise as the big guy holding me let me go and fell back, bleeding all over the floor. I stopped down for a minute and picked up a lump of meat wrapped in a thin layer of his pants. I tossed the meat into the fallen thug's hands, literally handing his ass to him.

I took the chance and moved quickly, stabbing two more thugs simultaneously as they looked on in a stupor. I wasn't fortunate enough to have the others remain like that though.

"Hey! Get his swords!" someone realized. Almost immediately, I was knocked to the ground as someone dogpiled me. I felt two more shakes as more thugs jumped up as well. All the air was knocked from my lungs briefly as a few hundred pounds held me firmly in place. One of the thugs even had the good sense to pry one of my short swords away from me.

The thug barking out orders grinned. "Get the other—oof!" He stopped talking mid-sentence as another thug was thrown into his gut. I saw Seki look down at me.

"Seven," was all she said. She raised her polearm ro strike down the thugs dogpiling me.

Still holding my second short sword, I powered up an Explosion. The ball of energy ate into the floor and broke the old wood like it was butter. The floor was long overdue for a replacement. It cracked and snapped as I cut a semicircle around myself. The weight proved to be too much for the floor to handle and it collapsed, falling one way and sending the dogplie on top of me ten feet into a cellar. I held onto the wood at the edge, smiling at my momentary success.

I pulled myself up, chuckling with pride. Seki was standing next to the hole, holding her polearm between her folded arms. She offered a hand to help me up.

"Eight," I said, looking down at my handiwork.

"That's nice," she said, glancing over at the ten other thugs knocked out throughout the room.

I looked back at her. "We'll call it a tie."

"Right."

Seki walked over, examining each thug, looking for one that we hadn't knocked out of incapacitated beyond talking. I just walked over and retrieved my second short sword.

"Alright, found one!" Seki called back to me. She stood over a thug who was holding his ribs. My guess was that she had broken them.

Seki grabbed the thug by the collar and stuck her face in his. "You're going to tell us where your boss is, right now."

The thug coughed before he answered, "Go to hell."

Seki shook her head in disappointment. "See, that's not very smart. My associate here just cut off your friend's behind like it was nothing. Are you sure you don't want the same to happen to you?"

The thug looked between her and myself for a moment. "You're bluffing."

Seki glanced over at me. It was a signal to do to this guy what we did to Truffles. Energy shot through my blade and focused into a Demon Saber. I brought it in quickly, holding it inches above the thug's throat.

"Hey, careful," Seki whispered to me. "We don't want to kill him."

I didn't say anything back. I just looked down at the thug below. Seki pushed down on his chest and continued to threaten him.

I looked down at the thug. At the blade of energy hanging barely an inch from his throat. I realized that if I just relaxed my grip only a little, the blade would fall and slice him open, causing his slow, terrifying death as he suffocated. And for some reason, the thought of killing him and getting away with it excited me.

"**You can kill him,**" a dark voice said. "**There are plenty of others to interrogate. No one will miss him.**"

It was true. He was one thug among a town full of thugs. One less wouldn't hurt. He probably didn't even have a family. Seki wasn't going to turn on me since I was still helping her. There were no cops around, and no one would report his murder. All it would take was one slip of my blade…

"Trevor!"

Seki's shout snapped me out of my thoughts. I had gotten so drawn into them that I hadn't even heard he talking to me. She looked distressed. She must have been trying to get through to me for some time now. I looked down at the thug. The Demon Saber was just grazing the flesh from his neck. I tightened my grip carefully and raised the blade from his throat.

"You're crazy!" the thug said as soon as I had moved the blade. "Even if I did tell you, the boss would just kill me later!"

"If you don't tell me, I'll kill you now!" Seki warned.

"Tut, tut," came a voice. There was a man standing in the back of the room. "There's no need for that," the man said.

Seki dropped the thug, punching him once in the stomach to keep him down.

"Bigsley," she said simply. I stood as well, keeping my Demon Blade handy, just in case.

"Seki, isn't it?" Bigsley said, oblivious to the danger. "Your little one talks about you often. She asks when you're coming to take her away from this city."

"That's tonight," Seki said. She raised her polearm and aimed it at Bigsley. He was a tall man, and true to his name, he was a big guy. He was still able to fit through the door, but he must have outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds. He wore a clean, fancy outfit—complete with a flowing red cape—that made him look like one of the nobles of the district. He was dressed in red mixed with a black shirt and white collar, topped with a red hat and black stripes. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was just another regal gentleman.

"Where is Bri?" Seki asked.

"She's safe," Bigsley smiled. "Or, she will be once you get back on the street and get to work. I don't pay you to stand around my bar."

"I'm done working for you," Seki said. Her teeth were gnashed and she was ready to pounce. "I'm taking Bri and leaving this city. If you give her to me now, I might let you live."

"Tisk, tisk," Bigsley taunted. "You're hardly in a position to be making threats. You can't even get out of this room."

I heard a door slam behind us. I saw some of Bigsley's lackeys pull a steel sliding door out from the wall over the doorframe. The locking pin falling into place seemed to echo in the room. Bigsley was already sliding another steel door into place, sealing us inside.

"No!" Seki cried out. She leapt at the door as fast as she could. She held out her polearm to pry the door open, but arrived half a second too late. The door sealed shut and locked. Bigsley laughed from the other side of it and faded away. He was escaping.

"No, no!" Seki shouted. She body slammed the door and struck at it with her spear, but it hardly made a dent. "He's going to kill Bri!"

"That won't help," I said. I was still maintaining the Demon Sabers. I held them aloft and approached the walls next to the door Bigsley sealed. "You know, people do so much to protect their doors, but so often, they don't even think about the rest of their place."

I swung the Demon Sabers into the wall, cutting through them like a chainsaw through a rotting tree. Four quick swings later and we had a sloppy rectangle where a solid wall once stood. I retracted the Demon Sabers and sheathed my blades.

"See?" I said.

But Seki was in too much of a rush to be impressed. "Great. Let's go." She pushed passed me and ran through the hole in the wall. I cracked my knuckles in anticipation and headed out the "door".

Outside, the city was as dark as ever. The only light around was from a single lantern burning away a few feet above us. It didn't show much, but we could see enough of the street. The road in front of the bar was bad, but this one was like walking into the slums again. Bigsley must have been playing slumlord back here, owning everything and charging ridiculous amounts for rent. The only people we were bound to find back here were criminals and junkies.

Seki was standing beside the bar, looking around frantically. "I don't see him!" she yelled.

"Calm down!" I said. "Just look for the orange house. That's where Truffles said Bri was, right? Bigsley will be headed that way."

"There!" Seki said, pointing down the road to a dingy looking building. It was old and falling apart, but it was, in fact, orange.

"That was quick," I said.

Seki, in her mounting concern, dashed down the street. I did what I could to keep up, but if there's one thing Burmecians can do better than humans, it's legwork. She was already smashing down the door before I was even halfway down the street.

"Seki, WAIT!" I called after her. If she heard me, she didn't listen. She slipped into the building and out of my sight.

"Dammit Seki," I muttered to myself. We didn't know if Bigsley had the place trapped or if there were extra thugs inside. For all I knew, Bri could be dead already and this could all be a distraction. We didn't actually see Bigsley head into the building. I just grabbed a short sword, ran inside and hoped for the best.

There was a loud crash inside as I approached the busted in front door. There was another muscle-bound thug lying unconscious in the doorframe. That answered whether or not Bigsley had help in here. I stepped over the thug and walked down the front hall.

The place was as ugly inside as it was outside. Every step I took I worried about the ceiling giving way and crushing me. The wood was so worn that it was already fraying. Bits of stray paneling stuck out like spikes ready to impale someone. There was little wonder why Bigsley would use this place to hold captives. It was practically a death trap.

I turned the corner and jumped into the first room I saw. It was big, like it was once used to host parties. Only a few broken tables and a chair lying on its side remained. More importantly, Seki was standing there staring down Bigsley and three more thugs who stood beside him. I froze when I saw Bigsley though.

He held a young Burmecian—Bri—in one arm. He had a knife held against her throat.

"You should have waited," I said to Seki. "We could have outflanked them."

"You should have been faster," she hissed back.

"How could you expect me to keep up with you?"

"ENOUGH!" Bigsley yelled from across the room. Apparently, being pursued by a pair of angry fighters who broke out of an inescapable room was enough to scare him. "Take one step closer and the brat dies!"

It was almost comical seeing Bigsley trying to hide his massive frame behind a small, frail, starving child. She barely worked as a shield.

"Hurt her and I'll tear you apart," Seki said. Looking at her was like staring down a grizzly bear.

"You wouldn't risk it, would you?" Bigsley. He held Bri tighter, forcing her to shriek in pain.

"Seki…" Bri begged in a low whimper. "I'm scared!"

"Don't move Bri," Seki said. "Everything will be alright."

"Not until you LEAVE!" Bigsley yelled.

From the movies I had seen, this was the part where the hero swooped in and saved everything. Unfortunately, this was not a movie. Bigsley accentuated his point for us to leave by raising his knife and stabbing Bri deep into her arm. She cried out in tremendous pain.

"BRI!" Seki screamed.

"LEAVE NOW!" Bigsley shouted. "You think I won't run her through?" He turned to his thugs and ordered, "Get rid of them!"

The situation was very bad. Bri was already bleeding all over the floor. I silently prayed that she wasn't stabbed in an artery. With the town as it was, white mages were in short supply.

The thugs moved in closer, towering over us, just like the ones inside the bar. I probably couldn't take them out without my magic, but I couldn't blow any of them apart without Bigsley reacting and killing Bri. It seemed like there was nothing I could do.

"Seki?" I asked. I looked over at her. She was as worried as I was. Her mind raced, looking for a way out. The thugs moved closer and spread out. Fortunately, we finally had a bit of luck. The thugs stood in front of their boss, breaking his line of sight.

"Seki," I said again. She glanced over at me. I held my one short sword close and pointed to the pommel, then thrusted it to the ground. The thugs were too thick to understand what I meant, but Seki understood perfectly and nodded slowly. I took a step back and readied myself as she charged herself up.

"Dragon Pommel!"

A huge wave over energy blasted itself into the ground. A storm of dust and debris was kicked up, blinding the thugs. As they stopped and the dust filled the room, I saw my chance to move in. Bigsley took one arm away from Bri to cover his eyes.

He never saw me coming.

Or the Explosion I had ready for him.

I slipped passed the thugs, charging into the thick smoke. Wood chips stabbed at my face like needles, but I pressed through. I squinted my eyes, hoping that I was lucky enough not to catch anything in them. I saw Bigsley though, still holding Bri with his knife to her throat. She kept her eyes closed. Good. That way she wouldn't see what I was about to do.

I brought my short sword back for a swing, charging it with an Explosion instantly. Bigsley looked up from the dust at the last second, just in time to see me strike his knife-wielding arm, right at the shoulder.

The blast overtook him at once, and everything happened in slow motion. The energy cut right through muscle, bone and sinew. Bigsley's arm fell off at the shoulder, dropping the arm and knife harmlessly and freeing Bri. I scooped her into my arms before the arm had even finished falling. I held her close so that she wouldn't see the fountain of blood that spurted out of the crippled criminal.

Bigsley stared at his stump of an arm, then at me. He had a deep look of horror in his eyes. I could tell that he was asking himself how the hell I could have done such a thing. He also looked at his arm on the ground. The pain hadn't hit him yet, but he knew he was supposed to be in terrible agony. When his pain receptors finally did kick in, he opened his mouth wide in a silent scream and his eyes rolled back in his head. He cupped his remaining hand over the bloody stump to stem the bleeding, but that was like damming a river with a twig. He fell back, now completely harmless. Blood loss and shock soon rendered him unconscious. He would bleed to death in minutes.

"Bri!"

I looked around and saw Seki standing among the clearing dust. The three thugs that came after us were now laying face down, although dead or merely unconscious I didn't care.

Seki jumped over them and dropped her polearm. She took Bri from my arms and held her tightly.

"Bri, I was so worried! I promised that I would get you out of here!"

Bri finally gave in to the pain and the situation and hugged Seki back, crying loudly into the dragon knight's shoulder.

I sat back, feeling accomplished. I wondered if this situation could have happened normally in the game, but brushed it off. I was clearly having more of an effect here than I thought.

"Trevor," Seki said, still holding Bri tightly. "Thank you. For everything. I… I don't know what we could have done if—"

"Don't worry about it," I said.

Seki nodded. She looked like she was about to cry from joy. I looked down and saw Bri still bleeding.

"Hang on," I said. I used my short sword to tear off two strips of cloth from my sleeve. I bundled one into a small ball to act like a bandage and pressed it against Bri's wound. She yelped in pain but Seki hushed her silent. I used the other strip to tie down the bandage.

"There," I said. "It's not perfect, and you should still see a white mage if you can, but it'll stop her from bleeding out."

"Thank you Trevor," Seki said. She stood, carrying Bri in one arm and her polearm in the other. She stood, carefully walking so that Bri could stay cuddled in her arm.

The air seemed much more inviting outside as we left. The night sky was lit up by the twin moons, making it much easier to see. Seki and I walked together through the noble's district and towards the slums where she could pick up the other children and reunite them all. That same familiar stench hit me as soon as we found the street leading down alongside the dirty river.

"Well, I'm about ready for a nap after all that," I said, stretching my tired muscles. "So, what are you going to do now? You kinda killed your boss."

"He had it coming," Seki pointed out. "But I guess I'll try to travel to Lindblum with the children. Burmecia is too damaged and dangerous for us to live in. Perhaps Regent Cid would be kind enough to take us in."

"I think he would," I said. "The Regent opened up the city to Burmecian refugees right after Alexandria attacked. I'm sure you'll be let in."

Bri had finally fallen asleep from all the excitement. She snored softly into Seki's neck, still clinging to Seki's clothes.

"I need to get her to bed," Seki smiled. She rested her polearm against a wall, then cupped my shoulder. "Trevor, thank you again. You've helped us so much that I don't know how to repay you."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I seem to do this a lot."

"Perhaps," Seki said. "But still…"

With surprising speed, Seki moved in and gave me a quick kiss. She grinned naughtily as she backed away. "Come find me in Lindblum sometime," she said, walking away. "I have more where that came from if you're ever around."

She flashed me a quick wave, then picked up her polearm and left.

I was left wondering if I should be touched, or if I should do a double take. I just shook my head, deciding not to think about it too much. I just had to wander around Treno now and find the others. And maybe I could find something to eat. I felt pretty hungry after that bout.

"Trevor!"

I glanced down the street and saw Eiko running straight at me. Mog was hovering right behind her. Eiko nearly ran right into me, but stopped at the last second and grabbed my hand.

"C'mon! We have to go!" she shouted quickly. "It's an emergency!"

"Go where?" I asked without budging.

"Alexandria!" she shouted. "It's under attack!"


	5. Clash of the Titans

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: Buy Halo: Reach.

Seriously.

That is all.

Chapter 5- Clash of the Titans.

XXXXXXXX

Since Mog was a moogle, she could detect life. That included where it was, and also when it was disappearing.

We raced our way back to Alexandria just for that reason.

We lucked out big time. Regent Cid happened to be traveling to Treno. With Lindblum recovering from Alexandria's attack two weeks ago, he was testing out his new airship. Designed by the Regent himself, the Hilde Garde 2, named after his missing wife, was one of the most advanced airships in the world. It had a sleek design, built from Cid's uncanny love of airships and advanced technology. The whole thing looked like a regular boat, but with the fuselage of an airplane on top instead of a sail. The whole thing was painted blueish-grey. It was the peak of airship technology in Gaia. However…

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Zidane complained.

I leaned over the side as the wind forced my hair to one side. "I'd just be glad if this thing stopped bouncing so much."

…Since the Regent's mind didn't seem to work properly since he was turned into a giant bug, the airship had a few problems. It rocked form side to side and shook occasionally. Every shake felt like a bomb going off somewhere on board. I was terrified that we'd crash any minute.

"It can't be helped," Regent Cid chirped. "I designed this ship as an oglop, after all. So, I have no gwok idea what could happen."

"Sounds like it might crash at any minute," Zidane said.

"Dude," I said, trying to ignore my heaving stomach. "Don't jinx us."

"Perhaps," the Regent agreed with Zidane. "But I think we can at least make it to Alexandria."

"Oh, man," Zidane sighed. "I guess we'd better cross our fingers." He sat down in the middle of the bridge.

We were scattered throughout the front deck, exposed to the wind of the night sky. Freya and Amarant were standing near each other on the other side of the deck from me. Eiko stood near the back along a walkway, watching the world below us as Alexandria came into view. The Regent stood next to Zidane, as best as his oglop legs would let him.

Vivi was sitting behind us all, holding his stomach and leaning against a wall. For a moment, I thought his face actually turned a shade of green. "Zidane," he complained. "I'm starting to feel sick."

"It's probably from the flight," Amarant shouted over the wind. "Go inside and get some rest. Try to stay in the middle of the ship. You'll feel less movement."

I was honestly surprised. Amarant didn't seem like the type to know something like that. He probably knew more than a hundred ways to kick a guy's ass, but inner ear functions and aerodynamic physics? Maybe he just rode on a bunch of airships throughout his life.

Cid nodded to the young mage. "Go on, Vivi. You can use the first door on your left down the hallway. We'll be landing in a few minutes."

"Okay…" Vivi said shakily. Very shakily. "Thanks."

I kept an eye on Vivi, making the ship didn't buck again and throw him overboard. I wasn't sure what I could do if that happened, but even I had survived being thrown over a ship.

Suddenly, something on Eiko's neck sparkled. It shined like light pouring through a diamond.

"Eiko?" Vivi asked.

The little summoner turned to him and sharply asked, "What?"

"I saw something sparkle."

"Huh?" There was another sparkle. Eiko reached into her dress and pulled out her jewel from Madain Sari. She wore it as a necklace, and right now, it was shooting out sparks like a miniature sun. "Dagger?"

Another explosion rocked the ship. All of us were knocked to the ground as the Hilde Garde II began to lose altitude. The force kept everyone down. I kept a death grip on the railing I had been leaning on. I had never been a fan of roller coasters, and the feeling of my stomach rising into my throat was most of the reason why.

"Dagger!" Zidane repeated. He shakily rose to his feet, still holding onto the railing as another explosion rocked us all. "Eiko, what's going on?"

"I thought I just heard Dagger's voice," Eiko explained. She rose to her feet as her pendant continued to shine. She stood like she was just on steady ground, blankly staring straight ahead, like she was in a trance.

"What?" Zidane asked again, forced down to one knee. "Geez, something's wrong with this ship?"

"This light…" Eiko said slowly and with profound understanding. "Maybe it's the holy judgment!"

"Holy judgment?" Zidane repeated.

But Eiko ignored him. She walked forward, simply ignoring the ship's violent shaking. She pushed through all of us laying on the crowded deck, then pulled herself up to the decorative bow. She crawled over the safety railing and walked out. It was almost like watching someone walk the plank in a pirate movie.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Zidane shouted. He chased after her, only making it as far as the railing.

"The summoner is being called…" Eiko said. I could barely hear her over the wind as the ship flew over the castle. "Alexander's judgment has come!"

Eiko stepped off the bow and fell into the night.

XXXXXXXX

The night had gone from bad to worse.

Dagger didn't think things could get any darker for Alexandria. After having caused a senseless war, made enemies of every other nation on the continent, lost most of its army in a humiliating defeat at the hands of a single man, and lost its queen, the citizens of Alexandria had plenty to complain about.

But why did Kuja have to pick tonight to attack?

Dagger's coronation had just finished. She was now the crowned Queen of Alexandria. The people of the nation had something to rejoice over, and Kuja took that away by burning the capital city to the ground, using the strongest eidolon Dagger had ever seen.

Bahamut flew through the air, blasting fireballs at random and destroying everything he could. Every building he hit was reduced to rubble. Every building he didn't hit soon caught fire from being so near another blast. It was pure havoc.

The citizens of Alexandria crowded the streets, desperately searching for a way out, but those who didn't perish to Bahamut's fire were soon consumed by the mistodons that Kuja released through the streets. The mist monsters that Alexandria lost to at the Iifa Tree roamed the roads, picking off every survivor that they could.

And all the while, Dagger watched, helpless.

The castle was the largest target in the entire city, yet for some reason, Kuja hadn't attacked yet. Killing her and getting rid of another summoner seemed to make the most sense, yet he was holding back. The Queen's mind reeled as she searched for an option.

She had already done everything she could. The Pluto Knights were distributed to save the town and stop Bahamut. Word had already been sent to Lindblum. With their forces, Lindblum could probably arrive in time to help evacuate the few survivors and put out a few fires. Still, Dagger wished she could do more. Although Beatrix had given her several more summoning jewels, Dagger only had experience with summoning Ramuh, and his attack was useless against a monster in the air.

Now, she was nearly alone in the castle. Her personal guard ran about keeping the exits sealed, just in case more mistodons tried to cross the moat. The queen stood in front of the large canvas of her mother, fighting back the tears of panic.

"Mother…" she asked the painting. "What do I do now?"

The answer seemed to come slowly to Dagger, but it wasn't one that she had expected.

"Is that music?" Dagger asked.

A slow, methodical piece rang through the air, echoing off a dozen church bells. Dagger rose, hearing it only faintly. She gripped the jewel around her neck, unsure if this was a sign from her mother, or something else. Still, she wanted to find its source. If this was a way to save her people, she would follow through without a moment's hesitation.

She wandered the castle, walking upstairs, towards the source. She made her way up stairs, towards her royal chambers. She was forced along because every time she took a wrong turn, her pendant shined brightly. The light blinded Dagger until she backed away and continued down the correct path. She couldn't go towards the balcony, or near any of the exits, so her personal guard was out of reach.

The royal chambers broke into three rooms. The first was her mother's room. Dagger still didn't have the heart to move it. It was tradition for the queen to stay in that room, but doing so somehow felt like kicking her mother out. Dagger wasn't ready for that yet.

The second room was her room. It was the same room she was stored in when Zorn and Thorn, those ridiculous midget jesters, captured her and extracted the eidolons from her.

The third door was across the grand hall from Dagger's room. She didn't go into it often because it only led to the roof. It gave a beautiful sight at night, when the sun was going down. She used to spend every morning there, but not since she was a kid.

The music seemed to draw here there, and that terrified her. If she went up to the roof, she would have a much clearer view of the city as it burned. She would be able to hear all the citizens as they screamed or were devoured by the mistodons. She hoped that sending Beatrix and Steiner out would quell the situation slightly.

"No, I can't…" Dagger said to herself. She tried to walk back down the stairs, but her jewel stopped her. The light from it shined so brightly that it hurt. It even blinded her as she shut her eyes and covered her face with her arms. Dagger cried out in pain, finally giving up and turning back around. The light dimmed and became no more than a light sparkle.

Dagger approached the door to the roof reluctantly, putting her hand on it. She looked back, as if expecting someone to reassure her to go on. She bit her lip and opened the door.

The stairway leading up was a simple one. Stone steps with suits of armor guarding each turn. They each held a sword in their hands. Dagger walked passed them, getting closer and closer to the music. She reached the last door and pushed it open.

Dagger had expected to see Alexandria in flames with a dragon king overhead, burning it all. However, what she saw in front of her kept her far more distracted.

The castle began to grind and shift. The sound of scratching rocks began to echo through the air. Suddenly, the ground gave way. Several pillars pushed forward from the castle, extending far into the sky. Ancient towers and stairways climbed higher and higher, completely remaking the castle.

A set of stairs completed the transformation, ending right in front of Dagger. She stood for a moment, stunned at what she had seen. She set her hand on the guardrail and started her way up.

The new structure was taller than Dagger thought it was. It took her several minutes to climb to a platform. The stones spread out, like a large, open deck. There was nothing around, except a guardrail around the outside of the platform, and a symbol in the middle. Dagger walked to the symbol and bent down to examine it. It was a pair of circles interlinked, then surrounded by another circle. It seemed mystical in nature. It looked like a large eye.

"I can still hear the music," Dagger said. She looked into the center of the structure. The tower still climbed ever higher, but there were no more stairs to climb.

"…What am I doing here?" she asked herself. "Mother…" Then, more quietly, she said, "Zidane…"

Dagger kept her hands close to her chin, remembering the last time her mother held her close, and the time Zidane saved her from Alexandria, or how he crashed through that window in Lindblum to keep her from harm.

Dagger took a deep breath and stomped her foot. "No!" she said. "I can't depend on them anymore! As Queen of Alexandria, I must protect my country!"

She folded her arms again. "But… how can I?"

Just then, her pendant started to shine again. Dagger expected to be blinded again, but this light wasn't painful. It was warm. It was welcoming. It soon engulfed her, covering her in a blue light that reached all around her.

"What is that?" Dagger asked. Her worry was gone, but she desperately wanted to know what this was.

She gazed up at the sky and saw an airship flying overhead. It was trailing smoke. She wondered how an airship could be flying now. All airships had been grounded ever since Trevor defeated the monster making the mist in the Iifa Tree.

She didn't wonder long. Suddenly, there was a flash of light that seemed to drop from the front of the smoking ship. It was pale green and was falling right for her.

Dagger didn't move. The green light continued to fall until it finally hit her, but it nearly stopped at the last moment. It slowed to a crawl. It felt like it would take forever for it to come back down, but Dagger looked into the light as it clashed with her blue light and was surprised to see Eiko inside, looking down at her.

Eiko finally finished falling, landing in Dagger's arms safely. One almost couldn't believe that Eiko had just jumped from a moving plane. The light faded and soon the two girls were standing face to face.

"Eiko!" Dagger exclaimed in astonishment. "How…why are you here!"

"I heard your voice on the airship," Eiko said, pointing to the descending Hilde Garde II.

"No wonder," Dagger said. "I felt your presence, too, and all of a sudden, I was covered in light." Suddenly, both Dagger's and Eiko's pendants started to light up and sparkle. "It's happening again!"

"Dagger, this is the light of destiny."

"The light of destiny?" Dagger repeated.

"A summoner's light of destiny, brought on by the hidden powers of the 4 jewels. This light appears when a holy eidolon calls for its summoner." Eiko grabbed Dagger's hands and pulled her towards the interlinked circles in the middle of the platform. "Come on, Dagger! As summoners, we have to fulfill our destiny!"

Dagger struggled out of Eiko's grasp as they reached the arcane symbol. "But… I don't know what to do."

"It's okay," Eiko said. "I'll show you. First, we have to put our hands together."

Dagger sat on her knees so she could be level with Eiko. They clasped hands with each other. "Like this?"

Eiko nodded. "Uh-huh. Now pray in your heart."

Dagger nodded and closed her eyes. Both summoners concentrated and Eiko led their prayers.

"_O holy guardian, hear our prayers._

_Darkness overshadows us once again._

_O holy guardian, hear our prayers._

_Deliver us out of darkness into light."_

The symbol glowed briefly beneath them. They continued the prayer and soon they were engulfed in light. Circles of blue light surrounded the girls and shot upwards. A pillar followed high into the sky as the summoning ritual concluded…

XXXXXXXX

"EIKO!" Zidane yelled. He had reached over the edge of the ship to grab onto her, but it was futile.

"Zidane, forget it!" I yelled. I had finally found my feet again and wobbled my way towards him. "She's gone! We need to land this ship and get Dagger out of here!"

"But how?" Cid asked. "Alexandria doesn't have an airship port designed for the Hilde Garde II!"

"Then why did we bring it here?" Amarant yelled.

"What choice did we have?"

"Doesn't matter!" I shouted. "Erin!" I called to the pilot. "Can you crash us into the moat?"

From behind the windows of the cockpit, Erin nodded and gave a hard turn of the wheel. The airship turned hard, flying around the castle. I could see that it had already transformed. Down below us though, were two little spots on top of the castle.

"Down there!" I said while pointing. "It's Dagger and Eiko! They're okay!"

Zidane let out a huge sigh of relief. "Good," he said. "Now we know where to find them. Let's get this scrapheap in the water."

"My ship is NOT a scrapheap!" Cid yelled, just as another explosion rocked the ship.

"Bitch later!" I yelled. "I want to get off this thing before we blow up!"

Erin circled around the castle once more and we landed in the front moat. We finally settled and the airship drifted along the water, landing against the docks leading into the castle. I could hear the metal of the ship grinding against the stone dock that was meant for boats, not airships. However, knowing what was going to happen soon, no one would notice any damage.

"Phew… That was quite a trip," the Regent said, waddling to the middle of the bridge.

"You little bug," Amarant said. I could see him snarling behind his massive dreadlocks. "We could've been killed."

"Amarant's right," Freya agreed. "It was a mistake to come here on that airship."

But Regent Cid shook his head furiously. "Well, we had to get here somehow!" I could see the stress was getting to him.

"Come on, guys," Zidane said. "We made it here in one piece. That's all that matters."

Cid nodded eagerly. "Gwok-gwok! That's right!"

Vivi didn't share their enthusiasm though. He walked off the boat and onto the dock slowly, clutching his stomach tightly. "I'm never gonna ride on an airship again," he swore. "Never ever."

"Sorry, Vivi," Cid said.

"Worry later," I said. I leapt over the side of the ship and scanned the castle. "Right now we need to find Dagger and Eiko before Bahamut aims this way." The others seemed to rally behind my idea as they all stepped off the boat. "Zidane, do you think you can go—"

I was cut off when a sharp ringing pierced the air. A beam of light shot out from the upper tiers of the castle, climbing into the sky and lighting up the night. It only lasted a few second, but my attention was immediately drawn to what the light had brought forth.

Now, pulling out of the back of the castle, were a pair of angelic wings so large that I could barely comprehend them.

The wings were four times as long as the castle was tall. They were so long that I could barely see the tips. I just gazed up at them, nearly losing my balance as I did.

"What the hell…?" Zidane asked.

"It's something big," Cid answered. "We need to find Garnet quickly!"

There was a low roar behind us. A pair of mistodons emerged from the moat, pulling themselves up on the other side of the dock. They shook the water off and started heading towards us.

"Oh great," Zidane said. He whipped out his weapon and took point.

"Zidane, wait," I said. I pulled out my short swords and stood next to him. "We don't have time for this. You guys go and get Dagger and Eiko. I'll handle anything stupid enough to come this way."

Zidane glanced frantically between the encroaching monsters and me. "Are you sure you can take them?"

"I'll be fine!" We didn't have much time before the castle blew up. We couldn't waste any of it on these random encounters. "Go now!"

Zidane took the others and they all ran through the front door of the castle. The mistodons bore down on me, as if they were angry that the rest of their prey had gotten away. I dodged their charges at the last instant as they rushed through me like a pair of pick up trucks. They corrected their direction and faced me again.

"My turn bitches," I grinned.

Overhead, Bahamut focused his anger on the newcomer. The enormous wings spread out, covering most of the city. They flapped once, snuffing half of the flames burning Alexandria to the ground. Bahamut roared in outrage.

The first mistodon tried charging me again, and missed. Iran towards the second mistodon and hooked my short sword around its head, swinging around it and jumping into its back. I took a swing at it, powering up an Explosion as I did. The energy ate away at the monster's head, then blew up, spattering blood and exoskeleton chunks over the dock.

"One down." I jumped down from the monster's back.

Bahamut flew in closer towards the giant wings. He could see the pair of summoners high on the castle's roof. He reared his head back and shot a fireball forth, with as much heat and intensity as the remaining fires scattered throughout the city. It ripped through the night sky and crashed right into the protective wings.

But it didn't explode. Instead, the winger counteracted the magic and extinguished it. The fireball turned to blue smoke and dispersed. When the wings opened again, I saw a pair of massive towers standing on either side of the castle, each taller than the castle itself. The towers were connected by a ghastly large wall behind the castle.

Alexander, the Holy Eidolon, emerged in all his glory.

The first mistodon charge me again, but I was ready with a Demon Saber. One quick side step and a flick of the wrist and its head came right off. It continued running like a chicken without its head, until it crashed into a nearby wall. The body slumped over dead. I just turned my head up, gazing in wonder at the battle before my eyes.

Alexander, the largest Eidolon and protector of Alexandria, spread his wings open. He looked far more majestic in real life than he did in the game. I was like looking up at a real angel.

The summoning continued as Alexander's wings lit up. Each feather glowed a blue light. For a moment, the entire sky was as bright as noon.

Then, Alexander attacked.

Each and every feather shot out a chain of light. Ten thousand bolts flew through the air, aiming at Bahamut. The Dragon King saw the peril he was in and immediately started to run.

Holy chain after Holy chain chased and missed Bahamut as he flew higher and higher. He did a good job dodging most of the attacks, but he couldn't keep it up forever. Eventually, the chains made contact, exploding on impact and burning Bahamut's skin. It soon became too much for Bahamut, and the holy light overcame him.

Bahamut gave one last roar of defiance before the chains swarmed over him, completely overtaking him. They exploded a moment later, banishing him and dropping his summoning jewel harmlessly to the streets below, out of Kuja's grasp. Alexander flexed his wings in his victorious moment.

Bahamut, fast as he was, only made it as far as the city gates.

"Holy shit…" I muttered. I didn't notice it, but in the chaos, I had fallen on my rear. The whole event was breathtaking.

I slowly got my bearings back. I took a breath and stood, watching the sky for the next 'cutscene' to appear. Things were going to get bad very quickly.

"_Trevor._"

I rolled an eye back reflexively. _What's up Kaiten?_

"_It's about your fight in Treno earlier. I haven't had a chance to talk to you about it._"

_What's there to talk about? I helped a dragon knight, saved a kid, and blew a guy's arm off. No big deal._

"_No, not that,_" Kaiten said. "_I'm more concerned with the fight in that bar._"

_What about it?_

"_You seemed a bit… off. You nearly cut that man's throat._"

I wasn't comfortable thinking about it. My inhibitions came out full force and killing the guy then watching him choke on his blood sounded like the best thing at the time. Maybe I was a little sick…

_That was just an accident_, I said. _Don't make a big deal out of it._

"_I'm worried that you might be losing your grip on reality_."

_I'm an Earthling who got sucked into his favorite video game somehow, who stole the body of an Alexandrian Captain's son, then got the soul of a Terran Lieutenant shot into the back of my neck. Yeah, I have a very good grasp on reality at the moment._

"_You know what I mean._"

_Just relax about it. I'm fine._

"_I don't know if you are. You see, I know you've been thinking about your mother a lot lately and viewing that memory book. I used to be able to go anywhere within your mind. It was just one vast, endless—_"

_This had better not be your way of calling me stupid._

"_Gods, would you shut up for one minute?_" Kaiten snapped. "_I was trying to say that I could go anywhere as far as I want within your subconscious. Now, there are spots I can't. It's like there's an invisible wall._"

_Invisible wall?_ I repeated. _Do you have any idea what it is?_

"_My only guess is that you're shutting me out somehow._"

_Kaiten, we're partners. You know I wouldn't do that._

"_Probably. But something is going on. I need you to try to get a grip on whatever you're going through._"

_Yes dad._

"_I'm serious! Minds are fragile things. And at the moment, yours is undergoing far more than what normal people can. I'm starting to get worried._"

_I'll be fine,_ I said for the third time that night. _If I think something's up, I'll talk to you about it. Alright?_

"_Alright,_" Kaiten agreed. "_I just don't want to deal with another earthquake in here._"

_So noted._

Although the battle was done and I couldn't hear anymore mistodons, there was hardly any sense of peace. The dark clouds swirled overhead, ominously. I watched them until some of the clouds over the castle started to spin the other way. They soon parted as an airship broke through, hovering steadily just over the castle. I saw a laser port glowing red. It looked like a giant eyeball floating in the sky.

"_The Invincible?_"

_Yup,_ I said, unmoved by the appearance. _Strongest airship in existence._

"_I know that! The Invincible was the flagship of the Olestan air force. I've seen it decimate entire cities. Being underneath it is hardly comfortable._"

_Then you know the trouble we're in?_

"_Oh yeah._"

The Invincible's appearance could only mean that Kuja was moving in to capture Alexander just like he did Bahamut. And if he did… we were all screwed.

XXXXXXXX

The interior of the Invincible was the pinnacle of Terran engineering. Smooth blues lined the wall along the floor while white reached up towards the domed ceiling. The green floor was kept clean. It wasn't a sinister design, but it was far from a noble one as well.

The ship was large, especially by Gaian standards. It was easily larger than the Hilde Garde II. However, the advanced AI onboard allowed Kuja to remain in total control, even when he wasn't aboard it. He hated riding in the ship anyway. It just wasn't…elegant.

Kuja threw up his hands and ordered the ship to capture Alexander. With the Holy eidolon, Kuja would finally have enough power for his master plan, even without Bahamut.

However, the unexpected passenger prevented the Invincible from taking action.

"You have gone too far Kuja," the man said.

He was dressed in a long, dark brown, flowing cape. The red gem resting over his heart seemed to signify his importance. He had a stone cold gaze as he watched Kuja in the projection room from the back of the airship. The floor glowed red, showing Kuja's face turn from elation, to concern, then finally to fear.

"I granted you freedom to do as you wish in Gaia for one purpose alone," the man said into the image. "Now that you have lost sight of your mission, I will no longer tolerate your actions. You have not the slightest idea who you're defying. I will show you soon enough."

He rested his hand on the back of the ship, giving the Invincible new orders. Flashes of red appeared around his hand as he took complete control away from Kuja. It was as easy to him as a parent taking a toy from a spoiled child.

"You too Zidane…"

XXXXXXXX

The people of Alexandria panicked, rushing out of the city. They pushed by everyone, scrambling for their own lives. They didn't even give a second glance to the man with white hair standing by himself.

Kuja watched with growing alarm as the Invincible continued to delay action.

"What happened to the Invincible?" he demanded of no one in particular. "Enslave Alexander as you have enslaved Bahamut!"

However, the airship sat still in the sky, hovering harmlessly above Alexandria castle. And that was when Kuja realized what was going on.

"Could it be…Garland?" he wondered. "Impossible! Why would he come to Gaia?"

If it was Garland, then Kuja's plans were all ruined.

"If it is indeed Garland, he must know my plan!" Kuja said. "But why has he assumed control of the Invincible?" Kuja thought for only a moment before his eyes shot open. "No… He can't be!"

XXXXXXXX

"_It's been too long._"

_We're waiting._

"_But the attack could come at any second!_"

_I said we're waiting!_

Kaiten and I were both getting impatient. The others had spent too long in the castle. They should have been able to grab Dagger and Eiko and get out by now.

"_Maybe we should have gone with them._"

_And let the mistodons break into the castle and kill everyone left inside?_

Suddenly, the Invincible's gun port lit up. It shot rings of light down at Alexander so fast that they looked like a tunnel at first. The rings crept around Alexander and engulfed him. The effects were horrifying and immediate.

Whatever the beam was, it looked like it was made for destroying eidolons. Alexander's towering legs started to crack apart and fall. Chunks of rocks the size of minivans fell into the moat with tremendous crashes. The waves they made splashed onto the dock and the Hilde Garde II. If one of those fell the wrong way, we would be totally screwed.

Alexander's wings were in even worse shape. The attack burned his wings, setting them on fire only briefly, but the damage was done. His feathers fell off, leaving little more than bone and a few stray feathers. They were black and ruined, a far cry from their former glory. For a moment, I thought I could hear a low cry, like Alexander was in pain. He looked so weak and pitiful.

"This is horrible…" I muttered.

"Trevor!" I looked down the main hall of the palace and saw Vivi, Freya, Cid and Amarant dashing back to the airship.

"We have to get out of here!" Cid yelled. "Erin, get ready to take off!"

"Hey, hang on!" I yelled as the lot of them passed me by. "What about Zidane and the girls?"

"We'll give them time to catch up," Cid yelled, jumping onto the deck. "But we can't stay here!"

"You saw what that last attack did!" Freya shouted. "If that hits again, who knows what it'll do?"

We all got onto the airship and waited for Zidane to bring Dagger and Eiko along. We didn't have long though. I kept my eye on the Invincible. Zidane probably had barely enough time to get Dagger and Eiko down from the roof when the flagship above prepared its next attack.

I saw a triangular rune etch onto the red laser port on the underside of the ship. It began to spin, moving faster and faster until it was an unrecognizable blur. It shrank to a single point. That's when it exploded.

The energy collected and shot straight down in a collected beam of light. This must have been the decimating attack that Kaiten had told me about. It touched down right on top of the castle. For the briefest moment, nothing happened, but then everything blew up.

And the resulting fireball threatened to consume all of Alexandria.

XXXXXXXX

"More souls have returned," Garland observed aboard the Invincible.

He watched the chaos below through the projection in the back of the airship. He focused on Kuja, apathetic to the rest of the destruction in Alexandria. Kuja had escaped most of the ruination, but he did not leave unscathed. He simply fled to the Hilde Garde I, hidden outside the city in the fields.

"In microscopic proportions, the process still continues after thousands of years," Garland continued. "Eventually, these circulating souls will no longer belong to Gaia. They must never be circulated back. Kuja did well. If only he had lasted longer. I never imagined he would chose to end his remaining days on Gaia. Perhaps this was his fate, set in ages past."

Garland turned away from the projector and walked slowly to the control room. It was time to go home, to Terra.

"I too, cannot escape my fate; someday, I must face your counterparts…"


	6. Hallucinations

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author notes: Well, good news guys! I finally found a decent job! XD It's federal and requires odd hours, but the pay and benefits are great. Of course, this may impact my writing schedule, but I'll try to make sure it doesn't.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna hit a bar for the first time in 2 years. XD

Chapter 6- Hallucinations.

XXXXXXXX

Lindblum was already looking better.

Last time I was here, everything was on fire and the place looked like hell. They had even gotten most of the damage under control. After passing by the air cab station, I could see that the Industrial District, among many others, were still off limits. Damage from Alexandria's attack had left those areas too dangerous for habitation. The city officials would probably have to destroy those districts in order to start all over again.

I walked down the main street of the business district. We had narrowly escaped Alexandria after Garland flattened the castle with the Invincible. Alexander had taken almost all of the damage unto himself, saving us and the rest of the city, but he died in the process. It was a beautifully noble thing to do, but it still left Zidane and the girls in a bad condition.

Although I hadn't talked to her since the incident, I already knew that the stress caused Dagger to lose her voice. Zidane had taken a rock to the head and had been unconscious since yesterday. No one else from our little group was in high spirits, so I went off on my own.

Sounds of reconstruction filled the air. People were already rebuilding their buildings, climbing up high scaffolding to repair scorched walls and broken windows. Buildings that had taken too much damage were just left alone, most likely for demolition.

As I walked, I pulled my sword out and dragged it along the paved road nonchalantly. Some people turned towards the grinding sound, but I didn't care. I was strong enough to do whatever I wanted in this world now. I spent a moment wondering if I was indeed stronger than Zidane or the others. One on one, maybe, but if they teamed up—

Why was I thinking about that now? I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. I didn't get a great night of sleep. I just twirled my short sword once. The tip was undamaged from my careless playing around. I just slipped it back into its sheath and walked on.

"_You seem distracted,_" Kaiten kindly pointed out, speaking for the first time today.

_Maybe I am,_ I said back. _Didn't get a lot of sleep last night._

"_Well, after an explosion like that, who can blame you? Even I didn't get much rest._"

_I still don't understand why you would need sleep like the rest of society._

"_Soul power is the closest thing to perpetual energy, but it falls a little short. That's why the Invincible is so incredible. Even as I am, I can't run around nonstop forever._"

I kept walking until I found a familiar street corner. At the moment, an old woman was running a street-side cart, selling drinks and other refreshments for the people working. When I had last come here three weeks ago, this was the corner where…

"_Vivi—"_

"_Get away from her!" Vivi suddenly cried out. As soon as I turned, a Black Mage backhanded him. The new enemy stood over the terrified little girl, staring down with a blank expression._

"_KILL!" it said robotically._

"_No!" I yelled. "Vivi, you have to stop it!"_

"_If you move, we will kill you!" the soldier behind me said again._

_I was torn. Risk death to save someone I probably couldn't, or just let her die and do nothing._

_The little girl screamed helplessly. "Mommy! Where's my mommy?"_

_The Black Mage ignored the horror in her voice as it charged up a fireball to incinerate her._

"_MOMMYYY!"_

I snapped out of it after a moment.

I wiped at my eyes. For a moment, I had seen the memory again like a perfect hallucination. Everything was there, the sight of the little girl crying, the sound of the city burning to the ground, and I could even smell the smoke and fire rising into the air. I held my head in my hands for a moment.

"What the hell was that?" I asked myself.

My first guess was that I was just tired. Hallucinations sounded like something that could be caused by lack of sleep. My second guess was that my vivid imagination was just recalling a traumatic event. Both seemed like valid reasons, but I wasn't entirely convinced. I decided to ignore it for the moment and rounded the corner.

The plaza in the business district was largely unharmed. The fountain was a mess and the top was broken off and lying inside the larger pool of still water. Some people were busy repairing what they could, but many of the storeowners were still hard at work, pushing their merchandise.

One of them was standing in front of a tall blacksmith. A long table displayed products of Lindblum's finest metallurgist. I saw him barking deals out at passing citizens.

"Times are tough!" Wayne shouted between cupped hands. "Alexandria may have been stopped, but that's no excuse not to defend your home. Swords are half off today! Plate armor and chain mail are on sale as well!"

Not many people were biting. Even though Wayne's prices were drastically cut, the products were still very expensive. They rested, untouched, as Wayne stood on the table to echo his store's sale. He slumped his shoulders as the crowds walked on by though. It seemed like a good opportunity to stop by and say hi.

"I see you're doing well," I joked. "Don't you owe me a pair of new short swords?"

Wayne looked down at me, scrunched his face in confusion, then recognized me at long last. He broke into a smile and jumped down from the table at once.

"Trevor!" he called out. We grabbed hands and gave each other a quick one-handed guy hug. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since the night of the attack!"

I let out a drawn-out sigh. "Long bloody story. We went to the Outer Continent to stop Brahne's weapons dealer. We got our asses kicked every which way, and even when Brahne showed up to betray him, she just got herself killed."

"Oh well. No big loss."

"No, it was a big loss. She must have weighed over five hundred pounds."

We had a short laugh before Wayne asked, "So, did it work? Did you guys win?"

"No, not even close. The weapons dealer, a guy named Kuja, stole an Eidolon from Brahne when he killed her. He used that Eidolon to attack Alexandria and burn it to the ground. That's why I'm here in Lindblum again."

"I see. Well maybe some new equipment would have made a difference." He guided me to the table, like he was inviting me into his home.

"Sorry," I said, pulling out one of my short swords. "Just upgraded a few days ago."

"Traitor. Going to another blacksmith."

"Sorry."

It was good to see Wayne again. He was in high spirits. Last time I saw him, he was defending a group of refugees in the storage room behind his shop from Alexandrian soldiers. He stayed behind while Vivi, Dante, Uzu and I went off to reach the castle. I frowned and reflected sadly on the cataclysmic failure of the mission.

"Hey, you alright?" Wayne asked. "You seem kinda bummed out."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said after a minute. "It just sucks about Dante. I guess I just miss him."

Wayne crossed his arms and dipped his head. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. I just can't believe he's dead."

"Dead?" Wayne gave me a look of utmost shock. "When did he die? How? What happened?"

I shot a strange look back at the blacksmith. "Wayne, it's been over three weeks. Dante was killed the night Alexandria attacked. How could you not know that?"

"What are you talking about? Dante didn't die that night."

I could feel my eyes literally growing to the size of dinner plates. "WHAT?"

XXXXXXXX

**Three weeks ago**

Wayne could have kicked himself. He never should have let the other four run off on their own.

After explaining where the traps in his shop were to the refugees and how to avoid them, Wayne set off on his own, following the paths Dante and company traveled. He carried a trident on his back and ran with another one in both hands. The trident in his hands could inject poison into an enemy, paralyzing them and eventually suffocating them after their lungs stopped working. The one on his back was equipped with a flame pouch and shot fire out of the middle point. Wayne was nothing if not a genius metallurgist.

Wayne was beginning to lose hope until he saw a unique trail of destruction in the noble's district. Several walls along a lengthy row of high-rising homes had been blown open, as if by an explosion. More then half of the building had collapsed. It didn't seem like Alexandria's style, so Wayne assumed that maybe Vivi or Trevor had something to do with it.

"Spread out!" a voice shouted. "You three, go that way! The rest of you, come with me! We need to find those three before they can sneak into the castle!"

"What about this guy?" another voice asked. "Are we just gonna leave him here?"

"Might as well. Just let him bleed to death."

Wayne knelt by a nearby fountain while three Alexandrian soldiers ran by on the other side of the plaza. He waited as the soldiers disappeared from sight, but he was worried. What did they mean by "Let him bleed to death?" Who was hurt?

Concerned, Wayne broke into a run once the coast was clear. He rounded the corner around the ruined homes, but slid to a stop.

There were a dozen Black Mage bodies littering the ground. They were all bleeding from small holes in their heads or chests. Dante had made quick work of them, Wayne realized.

His eyes gazed up at a large scorch mark on the ground, accompanied by a pool of blood. The blood dripped quickly and led to a crumpled pile of stairs.

And there, laying in the growing pile of blood, was Dante, motionless and still clutching his gun in one hand while the other covered the mortal wound in his chest.

"DANTE!" Wayne yelled. He rushed to his friends' side, dropping his tridents and opening a side pouch that he brought along just for emergencies. "Hold on! Stay with me!"

Dante didn't seem to respond. Wayne didn't have time to check for a pulse or see if the gunslinger was even alive. He just tore through his supplies, dumping them onto the ground until he pulled out the two vials he had been looking for.

"Hang on buddy!" Wayne pleaded. "I have some potions for you. They should help."

Wayne crawled around to Dante's head and sat it gently on his lap. He poured the blue liquid into the gunslinger's mouth and waited. For a moment, Wayne really believed Dante was dead, but at long last, Dante let out a weak cough. Wayne quickly poured the second vial down Dante's throat.

The wound closed on Dante's chest, but he was still bleeding on his back and had suffered a lot of blood loss. He was weak and shaky. He couldn't even stand himself up. Dante's eyes rolled around in his head until he saw Wayne smiling over him.

"Wayne…?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life?" Wayne suggested. "What about Trevor and the others? Are they okay?"

"They're… up there…" Dante weakly pointed up the ruined stairs to the upper tier, but there was no way to follow them. With the Alexandrians about, it was too dangerous to try to find them. Wayne had to hope that they would be alright on their own. They had made it this far after all.

"C'mon," Wayne said. "It's time to go." He lifted Dante's limp body and slung an arm over his shoulder.

"The others…?" Dante asked.

"They'll be fine," Wayne said. "I'm getting you outta here."

XXXXXXXX

I ran as fast as I could to the nearest hospital. Wayne said that the city had set up several more of them after Alexandria attacked. They were mostly filled with refugees and orphans, but injured civilians like Dante were given priority.

The hospital was located in the middle of the education district. It looked like they hollowed out an old school. Somehow, I doubted that the kids attending here would mind. The whole district looked like it had slowed to a crawl progress-wise.

Inside, the place was packed. Refugees were lined up all around the lobby. Tents and sleeping bags were scattered messily, most of them occupied. It felt like walking into a third world humanitarian center.

The workers and volunteers wore white headbands. They probably ran out of uniforms, so headbands became the next best way to identify help. I saw one woman handling paperwork behind a desk, scribbling furiously to keep up with the demand of patients.

"Excuse me?" I asked her.

"If you're here to help, go around that corner, through the second door on the right, and talk to Karen," came the hurried response.

"Actually, I'm here to visit a friend."

The woman looked up at me, impatient and cranky. "We don't have visiting hours sir. If you want to help, you're more than welcome, but otherwise, please leave. Space is a commodity we don't have."

I had seen this in several cartoons before. This was where the hero played the part and pretended to help in order to get a uniform, then he snuck around until he found what he needed. I'd get a few minutes to talk to Dante before some uppity dick found me and dragged me away for hours' worth of grueling volunteer work.

I didn't have the time or the patience for that. And I so hated clichés.

My short sword came out and found its way to the woman's neck. "I won't be long, but directions would be very nice. Understand?"

The woman stared in silent horror, though whether from the weapon at her throat or how calmly I was taking it, I wasn't sure. She just looked at my short sword once, then back to me. She nodded very slowly.

"Good. I'm looking for a man named Dante Ingram. I was told he was here."

"W-w-what is he in f-for?" the woman asked nervously.

"He was run through with a broadsword."

"He, uh… he might be in the intensive ward. Fourth floor."

I sheathed my sword and smiled gently. "Thank you." I started towards some nearby stairs, but I stopped and addressed the woman again. "Oh, and don't bother to tell the guards about this. The Regent's a buddy of mine, and I'll kill you if you do, ok?"

The woman made no motion at all. I took it as a sign of her compliance and left.

The stairs were messy and filled with dust in the corners. The people here had spent so much time helping people heal that they didn't have time to clean the non-essentials. At least it demonstrated a good community commitment.

"_You didn't seriously just do that, did you?_" Kaiten asked. He sounded angry.

_Do what? Ask for directions?_

"_That's not what I'm talking about and you know it._"

_Fine, so I was rough with her. I'll apologize when I leave. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission, right?_

"_Do you think this is funny? You just threatened to kill a defenseless woman!_"

_She wouldn't tell me how to find Dante! This was the fastest way to get information._

"_That's not justification! That's heinous!_"

_It's not a big deal. It's not like I have a pattern of this._

"_What about that soldier in Alexandria that you tried to kill when you thought she killed your friend?_"

_She was a bitch, and she _did_ try to kill Dante._

"_And what about those thugs in Treno and their leader?_"

_The thugs were no loss, and their boss was a slumlord, a pimp, and he used a five-year old as a human shield. There was nothing lost there._

"_You see? You have an excuse for everything you do!_"

_You're overreacting!_

"_You're acting exactly like Aitris!_"

I stopped on a step and thought for a moment. The name wasn't familiar. _Who the hell is Aitris?_

Kaiten was silent. After several seconds, I asked him again. _Kaiten?_

"_He was my sergeant in our special forces group. He had problems from day one, but I never stopped to confront them. He was a monster on the battlefield, but the enemy soldiers weren't the only ones to call him that. Outside of our little squad, there wasn't a single person who wanted to deal with him. Even the brass kept their distance._"

It was nice of Kaiten to actually share a bit about himself, but a glance up the last flight of stairs revealed the door to the fourth floor.

_Relax. I have it under control._

Kaiten said nothing more. It seemed I had won our little debate, so I opened the door and walked inside.

The halls were more open here than they were in the lobby. Rooms lined the hallways, but windows allowed me to see inside. Each room was mostly filled with injured men and woman. Some wore military tabards and were given more space than other patients. I saw doctors and nurses running around to tend to each one. They were incredibly busy, meaning I'd have to find Dante on my own. Even three weeks after the attack, Lindblum, crown jewel of technology on the entire continent, was subject to this.

I passed room by room, searching desperately. I came to the end of the hall and nearly gave up when I finally found a familiar patch of brown hair. I checked again and saw the man it was attached to standing by the nearby window, using a screwdriver to adjust part of the lock.

That was Dante alright.

I stepped in, not taking my eyes off of him for a second. "Dante?"

The man turned around and faced me. He seemed confused at first, but his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Trevor?"

He stumbled through the other patients in the room and we clasped in a quick bro-hug.

"Where have you been?" he asked. "What's it been? A month?"

"Three weeks," I corrected. "Vivi and I managed to find our way to the Outer Continent well enough. I'm just glad you're alive."

"Likewise. What about Uzu?"

"Hell if I know and damned if I care."

"Right." Dante walked back to his bed and laid back on top of the covers. "So, did you ever stop Brahne's weapons dealer?"

I followed Dante back slowly, but I stopped when he asked me that. I looked at him uncomfortably for a moment, then gazed out the window.

"He was expecting us," I said. "There was a tree on the Outer Continent called the Iifa Tree. The weapons dealer used it as a staging ground and overwhelmed Brahne's forces when she tried to double-cross him. My group only survived because we were too small to warrant much of his attention."

"Well, I'm glad you made it out alright at least," Dante smiled.

"Yeah, thanks," I said.

"But still, I have to wonder… why did you let yourself fail?"

I looked over at Dante and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You obviously didn't care enough to really try. You were strong enough. You could have killed Kuja without a thought."

"Kuja?" Then I realized… "Wait, I never told you his name!"

Dante shot out of bed and lowered himself into a full-body charge. Before I could react, he rushed me and pinned me against a wall. He pressed his arm into my neck and started to choke me. I tried to break free, but he was surprisingly strong, especially considering his injuries.

"You didn't care about me from the beginning!" Dante accused. "You knew I was walking to my death that night three weeks ago, but you didn't care! You just wanted to get yourself out of the city you selfish prick!"

"No, that's not—!"

I scratched at Dante's arm, but that only made him push harder. Pretty soon, I couldn't breath at all. I looked at Dante with a pleading expression, but he was too far-gone with rage to notice it.

"Dante!"

"You tried to kill me you miserable FUCK! Now let's see how YOU like it!"

I struggled for breath as darkness started to overtake me. I could feel my heart begin to slow down as my eyes started to roll back. I thought how pathetic it was to die this way after all that I had been through as I slipped into unconsciousness…

Suddenly, I could breath again. Fresh air swam into my lungs and I couldn't feel Dante's arm across my neck. I pushed myself away into a corner and looked up, but instead of an angry, vengeful man, I saw a confused, concerned friend.

"Trevor?" Dante asked. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean what's going on?" I shouted. "You just tried to kill me!"

"What? No I didn't!"

I could tell he had genuine shock written all over his face, but if that was the case, then what the hell just happened?

I guarded myself as I stood up. This could still be some kind of trap.

"You just started freaking out," Dante said. "You jumped back to the wall and looked like you couldn't breath. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, but I kept and eye out as I stepped away from the wall. Dante seemed like he was back to normal, but I didn't want to et caught off guard again.

"Alright, if you say so," Dante said. He tried to ignore my apparent freak-out and moved to the window near us. He went back to work on it. "So, what brings you to Lindblum? Just coming to check up on me?"

"Actually, I thought you were dead," I explained. "Although I did find the woman who stabbed you. I scared the crap out of her and, long confusing story short, I got her seriously demoted."

"Nice," Dante chuckled.

"Though, to answer your question, Alexandria was attacked by an Eidolon. So, it's lying in ruins now. I was part of a rescue team that had to extract the Princess. Or rather, I guess she's the queen now."

Dante stopped playing with the window for a moment. "So it's true?" he asked.

"Is what true?"

"With Alexandria gone, all four nations of the Mist Continent have been destroyed."

"Reduced to shambles is more like it," I corrected. "But basically, yeah."

Dante sighed. "All this dark magic… It's like it came out of nowhere, you know? The black mages were one thing, but Eidolons?"

"Those have actually been around," I said. "I found a village in the Outer Continent once full of summoners that worshiped the Eidolons and prayed to them."

"Once full? What happened?"

"Hurricane. Ten years ago. It killed most of the village and was the catalyst to its downfall. The only villagers left when we found them were a little girl and some moogles who were looking after her. God damn depressing sight."

"Sounds like it. So these Eidolons are like ancient monsters or something?"

"Something like that. What we need to worry about is who summons them. The girl we found—her name is Eiko by the way—is one of the only people left who knows how to summon them. The other is Queen Garnet."

Dante's eyes shot open in surprise for a moment, but he glanced down. "The royal family seems pretty gifted if they can both use those things, can't they?"

"Don't worry about Dagger. If you can't trust her with Eidolons, you can't trust anyone."

"Dagger?"

"Oh, right, you never met her. She's what we call Queen Garnet. I guess I should introduce you to the rest of my friends."

"You SHOULD if you're on a first name basis with royalty!" Dante shouted. "Do you know how quickly I could get my patents out if I was on a first name basis with Regent Cid?"

"Oh, you mean Bob?"

Dante gave me a sour look.

"Sorry," I said. "Dumb joke."

"Quite."

XXXXXXXX

"With more stimulus, we pull more data. With more data, we gain more information. With information, we grow in power, until we can take charge and do with it what we want!"

Innural danced about his lab, proud as ever. He had repaired his computers since Saiko's last…lecture, and the room once again hummed with cooling fans and processing information. There was a light glow coming from the screens that overtook the few lights running along the ceiling.

"And yet, you would have us follow the council!" Innural finished, glaring at his "partner" as he stood in the doorway.

"You know why I'm concerned Hart," Saiko said tiredly. "If we don't monitor Unit 00 carefully, he could collapse. Keep in mind that he is a person after all."

"People are just large, sentient computers," Innural countered. "They can be studied, measured, analyzed, tested, predicted, and ultimately destroyed."

"You're the most antisocial person I know," Saiko said in a rare accusation. "How would you know how people think and react?"

"You monitor previous stimuli, of course!" Innural sat down at a keyboard until a projection came up on the nearby wall. It was a line graph with the measurements of "Time" and "Power Gained". It measured the progress of "Unit 00" and climbed exponentially.

"Look here," Innural pointed to the graph like he was teaching out of an elementary school textbook. "We can see significant events leading to his growth in power. Here is when he first made direct contact with Unit 01… and here is when he unlocked Trance. The difference is clear."

Saiko was unimpressed. "But what does that say of his behavior? He is still becoming unstable, as I have feared. Boleman's second theory may still be correct. The fail-safes you designed might not be enough to keep Unit 00 from going insane. The strain of two souls in one body is too much to handle."

"Boleman was a fool!" Innural barked back. "A limited fool and a coward! He wasn't able to see beyond his own theories because he didn't have the capacity for it!"

Saiko folded his arms. "Having morals is hardly a weakness."

"He could have been so much more! He wasn't willing to make the sacrifices needed!"

"Seven people died under his experiments. That was too much for him."

"And I would kill a thousand! So long as it led to my desired results!"

Saiko shook his head. He wished so dearly that he could kill this man, but Hart Innural may have been the only key to Terra's revival.

"Just look at this growing strength!" Innural shouted once again. "Unit 00 is hardly weakening at all! What little fluctuation there has been is indistinguishable from a hiccup! And he'll only continue to grow until he even surpasses you." Innural pointed a boney finger at his partner. "And though he may save Terra, he may likely wish to kill us both. I intend to stay safely out of his reach."

Saiko had had enough and turned away. These recent events ever since Trevor and Kaiten returned to the Mist Continent had been most troubling. "Just keep me informed," Saiko ordered, closing the door behind himself before Innural could respond.

Innural kept boasting about that damned chart, but it was nothing new. Saiko had seen that power before, in the Spectral Knights, the Special Forces team once lead by Lieutenant Kaiten Saeis.

That same power had eventually destroyed them.

XXXXXXXX

Yup! The two old men finally make their first appearance in Destruction! I'm sure you're all just ecstatic. That, or you want me to toss Hart under a bus. I might do that later if I get bored. :P

Still, writing about the old men is always fun for me. You know so little about them or what they're really doing, and that makes them fun. Project Soulforge is a little complicated, so I'm trying to release information little by little so that when you finally understand it, I don't have to reveal it in a half-hour cutscene like Hideo Kojima did in Metal Gear Solid 4 (Don't get me wrong… I fuckin' LOVED that game! XD *fanboy squeal*).

Also, because of who they are, their lines allow me to put out some of my more darker ideas. Innural's lust for information and Saiko's patient/impatient demeanor allow me to go back and create quotes that I normally couldn't fit in otherwise, just because Final Fantasy IX is the game of happy, energetic characters, not 'sit in the dark and bitch' characters *glances over at Squall*

Oh, but that's not what you guys cared about at all, is it? I know what you really want to hear about and THAT'S… Wayne's triumphant return! Yes, Wayne, small-time blacksmith and otherwise completely ignorable NPC of Lindblum, he… oh wait… he's not what everyone's probably doing backflips over, is he? :P

Yeah, Dante didn't die. XD What can I say? The guy's based off my little brother, so I didn't really have the heart to kill him. I just needed him out of the way, so I kinda lied to everyone and let you think he was dead… for about a year… wow, that sounds worse on paper than it did in my head. I must be a real dick. O.o

Seriously though, I couldn't have Dante follow Trevor to the Outer Continent for two reasons:

1) Dante has range that only Vivi does otherwise. And given his personality, he would have fired on Kuja at the Iifa Tree (They were only like, ten feet apart. Easy target). Since I couldn't have that happen, I had to keep Dante back in Lindblum, or at least on the Mist Continent, and faking his death was the easiest way to do it.

2) Trevor's rage. Watching a buddy get murdered and knowing that you could have done something can drive someone understandably insane. Trevor wasn't growing fast enough and it had been a while since he had learned a new attack, so I wanted to give him one that I had recently modified from some old notes of mine. So, losing Dante gave him that, as well as a reason to lose control of his anger as an early warning sign in Destruction.

See people? I really AM a genius. :D And if I can do this much by manipulating someone else's work, just IMAGINE what I can do when I control the whole world of my own work! XD

Luminarium… coming soon…

…Once I find a damn publisher… .


	7. Things Would Only Get Worse

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: Well, this chapter might not be my best. I only started planning for it late and didn't really have time to edit it much. XP Thanksgiving and my new job got in the way, but oh well. At least you guys have something new to read, right? XD

I know this might not be the most exciting chapter, but it does pose an important turn of events in the Final Fantasy IX storyline. Still, I wish there was another explosion or a car chase or something since this is the 4TH ANNIVERSARY OF SHATTERED MIND! XD

Seriously, thank you guys for sticking around with this as long as you have. Shattered Mind would be nothing without your continued support. Work has picked up and is making it harder to write than I would like, but I love this story too much to give up on it now. XD More support and reviews ensures more chapters, until the story is finished. XD

Hope everyone had a happy food coma day! :D

Chapter 7- Things Would Only Get Worse.

XXXXXXXX

My free time in Lindblum was brief.

The day after I visited Dante, I received a message from Regent Cid. It was hand delivered to the inn I was staying in. The letter simply said that I, as well as the other heroes from our cadre, was being called in to a meeting. Although the letter didn't say so, I knew that this was about what to do next. Kuja was still alive and still very dangerous. Cid would want to cut him off at the pass.

I took a brief airship ride over to the castle, watching the city from above. I plotted out my course through ruined buildings and fallen walls, remembering the night almost three weeks ago. Although Dante was alive and well, I still hated thinking about it, yet couldn't seem to stop myself from doing so.

Self-hatred sucks.

I walked into the castle, taking my time and just enjoying the fine building. I hadn't had much time to relax recently, what with liberating a prostitute dragon knight or saving the princess of Alexandria (again!). So far, the last three days had been the closest thing I had gotten to having a vacation ever since I landed in Gaia.

I didn't make it far into the castle before I saw a familiar face.

"Blank?" I asked, seeing the red-haired "blind bandit" of Tantalus looking around, clearly lost in the gigantic front lobby. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. Or rather, I assumed he did. It was hard to see through that headband covering most of his eyes.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

_Right, we didn't really introduce ourselves before he got turned into stone in the Evil Forest_, I remembered.

"I'm Trevor," I said. "Zidane's friend. I was there when the Prima Vista crashed in Evil Forest."

"Oh, right," Blank finally remembered. "I saw you when you and Zidane were trying to get the princess out of Alexandria too."

"Yeah, you and Marcus saved our asses," I grinned. That was always an awesome part of the game. "What brings you here?"

Blank shrugged. "Some guy asked me to find Zidane and give him a message when he woke up, but I can't find him. I heard he was being kept somewhere in this place."

"Try the guest rooms," I said. I pointed up a staircase to my left. "If memory serves, it's that way and in the second door to the left."

"Second door, huh?" he said, scratching his spiky hair. "Alright, thanks. I'll catch ya later."

"Later," I said with a wave. Blank dashed off to find Zidane. I imagined he would do something harsh, like dump a bucket of water on the monkey-tailed thief's head to wake him up. Still, I had other things to worry about, like getting to the meeting on time. I walked to the elevator and let myself in, pulling the switch to send myself to the uppermost floor.

The top floor was lavishly decorated, as always. It seemed that the first thing Cid did was make sure his royal quarters and meeting hall were kept up to par from before. That, or Alexandria never damaged this floor. It was a petty concern at best and I just didn't care enough to ask.

The meeting hall was already full. The other world heroes were standing around a fine table in the center of the room. It was the same table where we had our victory meal after the Festival of the Hunt.

For a moment, I wondered where my giant ice cream statue was.

"There you are," Freya said. "I was wondering if you were going to show."

"Gimme a break," I said, rubbing my tired eyes. "I'm staying in an inn on the edge of town. I have a worse commute than the rest of you."

"Hey Trevor," Vivi said. "How're you doing?"

"Alright," I answered. I was a little distracted what with finding Dante the other day, but I didn't bother explaining the situation. It would have taken too long.

"Where's Zidane?" Amarant asked impatiently. He wasn't used to such situations and was probably just waiting to get this over with. A big meeting meant a big fight later on.

"Still asleep, I believe," Freya answered. "I imagine he won't be much longer. It's been three days already."

"He's going to starve to death if he doesn't wake up soon," I pointed out. "We should have some free food for this meeting."

Right on cue, my stomach growled. I punched it once to silence it, but it do much good. I should have grabbed some breakfast before I flew over.

Several minutes went by. We chatted back and forth about the state of the world and what the citizens must have been going through. Eiko was excited just to see so many people in one place, suffering or not. Vivi was quiet most of the time. Perhaps he felt guilty that his people were used to cause the destruction of Lindblum.

At long last, Minister Artania walked into the room with Zidane just behind him. We didn't get a chance to greet them before Regent Cid's throne smashed down into the side, filling the empty far end of the meeting hall. It was a steam powered elevator and one of his engineering "toys". He really needed his wife back so he could have better use of his time.

"Is that everyone?" Cid asked, giving a once-over of the room.

"We're still missing the princess," Steiner was quick to point out.

Zidane took a seat next to me. "She's probably up by the telescope," he said hesitantly.

"I'll go get her!" Eiko said, jumping out of her seat. She ran out of the room before anyone could object.

"Let's begin in the meantime," Cid said. "How fares Alexandria?"

"…The town is in shambles," Steiner answered apprehensively. "Many innocent lives were lost."

Cid nodded. "Gwok I can imagine."

"Her highness is probably beyond despair," Artania said.

"I have never witnessed such tragedy," Steiner said. "There was nothing we could do. We fought with everything we had, but to no avail. Beatrix and I were prepared to give our lives. I don't even know what happened to her."

We have spent much time and effort rebuilding Lindblum," Artania added. "But I believe it will take much longer for our people to overcome their losses. Those who survived have a long, tough road ahead of them."

"Burmecia, Cleyra, Lindblum, and now Alexandria," Freya counted on her fingers. "Kuja has vanquished all four nations. What is he trying to accomplish?"

"A militaristic takeover?" I suggested. "At the moment, Lindblum is in the best shape to oppose him, and just look at the city. There are more refugees and homeless than not."

"Who cares why he's doing it?" Zidane shouted. "Let's just go get him!"

"It's not that easy," Cid said. "Kuja's powers are beyond ours. How do you plan to fight him?"

Zidane's silence just made the Regent's point for him.

Cid continued. "Kuja is a man of many mysteries indeed. I still can't believe what I saw when we were evacuating from Alexandria."

"What?" Freya asked. "What did you see?"

Cid's shoulders slumped slowly as he spoke. "I saw him escape on my stolen airship, the Hilde Garde I. Gwok There were black mages onboard too."

Vivi gasped and stared wide-eyed at the Regent.

"They weren't ordinary black mages either," Cid continued. "They were talking normally, like us."

"NO!" Vivi shouted. He grabbed the hat the black mages made for him, treating it like a security blanket.

"No way!" Zidane said. "Are you sure about that?"

"There is no doubt," Cid said.

"WHY?" Vivi demanded. "Why are they with Kuja?"

Cid sighed. "Perhaps I should start at the beginning…"

XXXXXXXX

While Cid retold his story of lechery, of hitting on barmaids, and of his wife's discovery and revenge, Dagger sat by herself up on the high tower, looking over the plains below. She had already gazed through the telescope enough times to paint the entire scene from memory. Perhaps she should tell them…?

_No_, she thought, shaking her head. She had caused enough problems. Alexandria was destroyed and hundreds of people were dead because she wasn't strong enough to protect her city. She was the worst queen ever. At least Alexandria thrived while her mother was in command.

Dagger leaned against the wall, barely able to contain the tears of her self-loathing.

"DAGGER!" came a small, shrill voice all of a sudden. "Where are you!"

Dagger didn't respond, but soon she heard little footsteps running around the tower. They soon found the stairs leading to the telescope. Eiko popped her head up and saw Dagger sitting by herself.

"There you are!" Eiko said, jogging up to Dagger's side. "Why didn't you answer when I called you?"

Dagger stayed silent.

"Whatever," Eiko decided. "Everyone's in the conference hall! We're talking about what to do next and we need you there!"

Dagger just pulled her legs in close and buried her head into her knees.

"C'mon, why are you stalling?" Eiko asked. "Is this about Alexandria? You know that wasn't your fault, right?"

Dagger looked at Eiko for a moment, shook her head, then reburied it.

"That's just stupid," Eiko said. "The city was surprise attacked by an all-powerful bad guy. The city would have fallen even if we were prepared! And you and I did a lot of good by summoning Alexander to fight! We saved the rest of the city! Cheer up, would ya?"

Dagger opened her mouth to speak, but she only sighed. She gazed at Eiko, appreciative at what the little girl was trying to do, even though it didn't really work.

"Dagger?" Eiko asked curiously, leaning in. "What's going on? Why haven't you said anything?"

Dagger tried to speak again, but all that came out was a gentle wheeze.

"Dagger!" Eiko cried out. "Did you lose your voice?"

Dagger stared for a moment, then finally nodded.

"This is terrible!" Eiko shouted. She grabbed Dagger by the hand pulled hard. "C'mon! We have to tell the others!"

Dagger didn't want to go anywhere, but Eiko was too persistent. She eventually got the depressed princess to move, then pulled her forcibly to the nearest elevator. Dagger needed rest, Eiko thought, so the guest room downstairs was the best place to put her for now.

One of the others just had to know how to cure Dagger.

XXXXXXXX

Hours later, I found myself wandering the streets alone, in search of a potion.

Cid's tale of infidelity had long since ended. The working theory was that sometime after his wife found out that he was hitting on a barmaid, she turned him into an oglop and fled, using the newly developed Hilde Garde, the first ship ever that could fly without mist. However, Kuja must have captured her and stolen the ship for himself, because there was no way the queen would just hand it over.

While Dagger had apparently lost her voice due to Alexandria's destruction, Zidane and I had been tasked with finding some potions that could cure Cid. It was a simple mix of potions that would return him to his normal appearance, but the problem was that the potions needed were very rare.

Zidane searched what was left of the Theatre District, since his friend Cinna had one of them, leaving me to scour the Business District for another one. I remembered from the game that the Beautiful potion was out here somewhere, but it wouldn't be the first time that the game and my new life here contradicted each other.

Still, it was probably better than sitting around, waiting for something to happen, like the others were. Steiner freaked out about Dagger losing his voice and blamed himself for it. Vivi was still in shock that the members of the Black Mage Village would get themselves involved with Kuja again. Eiko had been looking longingly at Zidane again, so I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to move in on him again.

The Business District was now a cluttered mess of stalls and people running about. The citizens were working as hard as ever rebuilding. I tried to stay out of their way, but I had to ask the occasional one where to find something called a Beautiful Potion.

Most of the responses were confused looks or simple shrugs. I even got a few 'What the hell are you talking about's. I had almost given up before I found a secluded corner in one of the plazas. A young woman running a shop was having a sale of some sort in front of a dilapidated building. She had curly blond hair and wore a lovely blue dress. She was actually pretty cute. If I remembered correctly from the game, her name was Alice.

I walked up to Alice as she was giving out a cheer for her shop.

"Alice's Potions and Supplies!" she barked out to the gathering crowd. "If you can't find it here, it doesn't exist!"

Her supplies were scattered neatly along a long table, each with appropriate labels. It was hard to see through everyone pushing and shoving, but I was eventually able to get a decent look. Bottles and vials contained all sorts of cures and tonics, but none of them were the Beautiful Potion that I needed. I took a second look just to be safe.

"Can I help you find something?"

I looked up as Alice leaned on the table, smiling at me. She was a lot cuter up close.

"Uh… hi," I said. I was a little off guard with her up close. "Yeah, I was looking for something called a Beautiful Potion. Do you know where I could find it?"

"A Beautiful Potion?" Alice said. For a moment, I thought I had hit another dead end, but then her lips curled into a smile. "Not many people ask for that anymore. Give me one minute… I had one around here somewhere."

Alice turned her back on the crowd and started searching through a chest behind the table. It took her a minute, but when she came back up, she was holding a large vial, about the size of a vase. There was quite a bit of liquid still inside.

"Here, I think this is what you were looking for," she said, setting it on the table.

I lifted the bottle and examined it. About half of the potion was gone.

"Some of this is missing," I said. "What did you do? Use it yourself?"

Alice just laughed. "Aren't you charming. You think I'm beautiful?"

I was just trying to make a dumb joke, but in all truth, she was very attractive.

"Well, yeah, of course," I said. "You have the most amazing eyes I've ever seen, and your hair is the best out of any girl I've ever met, and I've been all over the continent."

Alice laughed again. "You're a real sweetheart, you know that?"

"So I've been told." I was hanging around Zidane too much. One horndog was enough for our group of adventurers.

"Tell you what," Alice said. "Since you're such a sweetie, I'll let you have this for free."

"For free?" I said appreciatively. "Are you sure?"

"Mhmm," Alice grinned. "Just come back and visit sometime, alright?"

I nodded with a grin as I picked up the bottle. "Sure thing beautiful."

Alice giggled once more and waved goodbye as I turned and left.

I had to admit, I did not see any of that coming. Maybe my good looks would serve me better in Gaia than they did on Earth. I didn't have movie stars to compete with. Only the occasional theatre star could get in my way.

Damn I had to get laid.

As I was walking away, I turned back to get a last look at her. She glanced up at me and grinned.

I stopped in place. The potion wasn't going anywhere, and Zidane would probably need a while longer to find his two potions, and even if he didn't, Cid wasn't going anywhere. I had plenty of time to ask a cute girl out.

I walked back, holding the Beautiful Potion in my left hand. I made my way around the crowd and faced Alice.

"Hey, I never got your name," I grinned. "Mine's—"

The second Alice looked up to me, disaster struck. A fireball hit the plaza and engulfed everything in flames. I was lucky enough that the crowd took the hit and blocked it for me, but they were all burned to a crisp. I stared in horror as the fire ate away their skin and clothes, charring them all black. The potions and vials on the table all cracked and exploded; hope was now out of reach for these poor civilians.

Panic struck the rest of the plaza. The air was full of screams. These people had just started rebuilding… they didn't need anything else like this coming to destroy their homes or kill them. I wanted to help, but it was too much, too fast. I needed the others.

I looked up, over to Alice's table feeling the heat against my face and helplessly trying to wave it away. Behind my flapping hand, Alice was burning to death. Her screams were all I could hear as the top half of her body was seared. I reached for her, desperately trying to help her. The others were dead, but maybe I could save her…

"NO!" I shouted. "GET DOWN! SMOTHER THE FLAMES!"

Alice fell, finally going silent and laying still. I crawled over to her and tried to beat the flames off of her, but her arm disintegrated like freshly burned wood. I looked up, just as a dark figure on the other end of the plaza started cackling manically.

The figure raised his hand again for another attack. I saw him aim it at me as a fireball gathered in his palm. I clenched my eyes shut and raised a short sword, hoping it was enough to defend myself.

"Are you ok?"

The screaming stopped. I didn't hear fire eating away at the buildings anymore, or the dark figure's laughter. In fact, as I opened my eyes, everything seemed back to normal. Well, except now the crowd and Alice were looking at me like I was on an acid trip. The fire was gone, but it was replaced with a row to odd looks.

Alice's gaze was the most embarrassing to see. "What…was that all about?"

Everything was back to normal. People were rebuilding and shopping, not screaming and burning. I stood, unsure if I would truly be able to regain my composure.

"Fine… fine," I said after a long moment. There was no way to recover from this, so I simply excused myself and walked off quickly.

My heart was beating fast from embarrassment. I couldn't see, but I was sure my face was a shade of bright crimson.

"What the hell happened there?" I asked myself. "Did that happen? Am I hallucinating or something?"

"_Trevor, we need to talk._"

_Kaiten?_ I asked. _Why? What's going on._

"_It's easier to show you than tell you. Find a secluded alley and get up here now!_"

I wasn't sure what Kaiten was so agitated by, or why he felt the need to be so pushy, but I knew he wouldn't bother me like this unless is was important. There was an alley nearby, blocked off with a low wall of boxes and ruined wood. I hopped over it easily enough, then sat back against the wall, completely hidden from the street.

_Okay, I'm ready_, I told the voice in my head.

Seconds later, I felt a draining sensation, like I was being pulled backwards into myself. The world quickly went dark and I lost consciousness.

XXXXXXXX

At first glance, the world of my subconscious looked the same as always. Endless white stretched as far as the eye could see. There was nothing to this world except for the pile of memory books beside me. Kaiten stood next to them, still dressed in his blue Terran armor.

"There is such a thing as casual Friday," I told him.

"No time for that," he said bluntly. "Follow me."

Kaiten walked around the pile of books and I followed. I was about to ask him what this was all about, but the answer came soon enough when I gazed out to the horizon.

"Remember when I told you that I had lost access to some parts of your mind?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, staring ahead.

"Well… it's gotten worse."

Directly in front of us was a huge wall, stretching from the floor up to beyond what the eye could discern. It was a long wall that seemed to divide my subconscious in half. Most notably of all, it was a translucent red. I could partially see through it, but the occasional puff of red blocked my vision, like leaves blocking the bottom of a river.

"What is this?" I asked. I reached out to touch it, but Kaiten grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"Trust me, you don't want to do that," he warned. Suddenly, a rock materialized in his hand. He tossed it into the wall. The second it made contact, a red flash appeared around the rock, breaking it into a thousand pieces.

"What the hell was that?" I blurted out.

"I don't know," Kaiten said. "But it's dangerous. The first time I touched it, it took me a whole day to regrow my hand." He held his hand out, as if to demonstrate.

"Only a day?" I asked. "That doesn't sound too bad. At least you could regrow it at all."

"Remember the day we fought in here and you ran me through with a sword?" he asked. "That only took second to recover from."

"Oh," I remembered. "Oooohhhh... Wow that's bad."

"And we have no idea what will happen if you try to touch it. In here, you could lose part of yourself, or become damaged in the real world."

"So how do we find out what it is?"

"That's what I need you to find out," Kaiten said. He turned to me gruffly. "Trevor, this thing is growing. I don't know what it is, and I don't know what it can do, but it's dangerous. We can't have it around like this."

"Then what can we do?"

"Tell me, have you been alright for the last few days?" Kaiten asked. "I know something's going on, but because of this wall here, I can't figure it out."

I paused for a moment. Should I tell Kaiten? I had been hallucinating as of late, but telling him that would just add to his problems. It was bad enough that he was stuck in my head like this, only controlling my body every now and then. I didn't need him devoting so much time to me when he had his own worries to deal with.

"I've been alright," I said. "A little up and down though because of Alexandria, but otherwise alright."

"Don't lie to me," Kaiten said tiredly. "I've been around you long enough to know when you're hiding something."

"What are you talking about?" I asked defensively. "I'm not hiding anything!"

Kaiten grabbed me by the shoulder and looked me dead in the eyes. "Pushing yourself away just hurts you in the end. And in this situation, keeping anything to yourself will probably just make things worse here." He pointed to the wall to emphasize his point.

Kaiten clearly wouldn't let this go. I would have continued my cover story, but him living inside my head made lying to him a little difficult. All he had to do was wait until my memories got stored into a book, then read it.

"Fine," I said. "I've been hallucinating recently. I don't know why or what's going on, but it's like reality gets bent around me and it affects only me."

Kaiten's eyes shifted as he examined what I had to say. "But how come you can see them, but not me?"

I shrugged. "I thought you could see what I saw, but I dunno. Maybe I'm going crazy."

"I'd hope not. My new home would get ruined."

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head at him.

Kaiten smirked. "And I just got the books arranged the way I like too."

"Did you just tell a joke?"

XXXXXXXX

After I recovered from slipping into my mind, I returned the potion to Zidane. I left before he gave the solution to Cid, but I already knew what was gonna happen. Cid would take it and get turned into a frog instead of reverting back to human. The spell his wife put on him was more complex than we all gave credit for.

Although our plan to cure the Regent failed, we still had to keep moving. Cid's observation that Kuja had used black mages on his airship after destroying Alexandria raised several questions, not the least of which was: what is he doing? We had to find out for ourselves why the black mages would go with him, and to sate Vivi's own questions.

However, with the lack of mist on other continents, or our own ever since we killed Soulcage, there was no way to use airships. The mist-powered generators would crash after only a few feet, and even if we did make it to the ocean, we would barely clear the beach before we smashed into the ground.

Fortunately, the Regent somehow stole a fine ship from Alexandria before the city blew up. It was a 75-foot long boat, complete with sleeping quarters, a cabin and three sails. It was painted blue to match the ocean. It looked like a nice boat, owned by someone very, very rich.

The Blue Narcissus.

"Man," Zidane muttered as we walked along the harbor together. "I hope this thing can get us there."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," I told him. I was still reeling about the trauma occurring in my head. It could have been spreading for all I knew, subjecting me to more and worse hallucinations. I kept a vigil for the next one.

"Finally!" a familiar voice shouted from the Blue Narcissus. "I found you!"

Zidane and I looked over to the ship and saw Quina of all people, hopping on the stern of the ship, causing it to rock violently.

"Quina?" Zidane asked, stepping onto the deck of the boat. I was right behind him. Some of our group was on the boat, inspecting it. Vivi sat along the railing while Eiko ran about, excitedly exploring everything.

"What are you doing here?" Zidane asked the Qu.

"Where you go Zidane?" the emotionally distraught Qu asked. "I travel everywhere! Look all over for you!" Quina sat down against the hard deck and pouted. "I so tired. From Maidan Sari, I climb mountains, cross ocean, fight monsters…"

"Wow," Zidane said, taken aback for a moment. "You've been through one hell of a trip, haven't you?"

"Who's this?" came a smarmy voice over the railing. A second later, Blank hopped over, grinning like a madman. "You're new girlfriend, Zidane? Hehe."

"Oh, hey Blank," Zidane said, immediately ignoring Quina, much to his/her dissatisfaction. "Are you coming too?"

"Yeah, I was asked to," Blank said, walking around the stern. Zidane and I followed him.

"By who?"

"The boss, of course. But it wasn't his idea." Blank stared at the steering wheel, like he owned the entire vessel.

"It was mine," Cid said, hopping onto the deck. Quina immediately took notice and forgot his sorrows. He looked at the Regent hungrily.

"We need at least one person to look after the ship when we reach our destination," Cid explained.

"Plus, I owe you guys one for the Supersoft," Blank nodded.

Quina was off in his own little world though. "…Frog…"

"You don't owe us anything," Zidane told Blank.

"…Frog…is talking…"

"Okay! Anchors aweigh!" Cid called out.

"Oh, by the way," Zidane, turning to Cid. "Quina loved frogs, so you better watch out."

We all turned to Quina in his mutters. "…Maybe I eat it?" he thought.

"This is gonna be fun," I said. A week long trip on the ocean once again would probably lead to all sorts of sitcom situations. As long as I kept my mind under control, things would be fine.

Blank made a move for the cabin so he could steer the ship. "Alright. Press [Select] if you ever want to verify our location."

I stared at Blank in utter confusion. "What did you just say?"

Everyone turned to look at me. Black spoke first when he pointed to a map painted outside the cabin. "I said, here's the map if you ever want to check our location."

"Oh, right," I said. "Of course you did."

Maybe something _was_ wrong with me.

XXXXXXXX

Well, this was different for me. Normally, I try to plan everything out way in advance deciding between which points in the game I want to write. However, working as a counterterrorist (no, not like Jack Bauer :P), I have a lot less time in my day than I thought I would.

Still, this isn't a bad chapter. I like it and it shows Trevor's degrading mental condition. Perhaps there's more to Boleman's theory than Innural let on? ;)

Well, as work goes, (and let's be honest, the new World of Warcraft expansion doesn't help XP), I'll try to put a little more substance in my next chapter. Still, this is where we get into the really cool parts of the game, isn't it? ;)

Further reviews encourage better chapters guys! Your support keeps this saga going! XD

Thanks again.

-Krimson Rogue


	8. Abandonment

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: I notice that I've changed the way I've been writing these Shattered Mind openings. I can't help but wonder if this is because of some significant style change or if I'm just losing my mind. Who's to say, right? Personally, I think I'm just trying to get to the good stuff earlier this way, but the important thing is if you guys are having fun reading. XD

Oh, and in other news… my novel is finished. O.o

I'm looking for a literary agent so I can get published, so make sure to look for a note saying that I've found one in the coming months. XD Since this story and all your reviews have made it possible to reach this point, I'm gonna try to do something special again soon. Just you guys wait. XD

Chapter 8- Abandonment.

XXXXXXXX

The boat ride wasn't as bad as I had feared it would be.

When we were traveling back from the Outer Continent on Brahne's escape ship, Amarant and I had to do all the work. Perhaps it was my continuously declining work ethic, but I just didn't feel like doing all hard that again. Sailing was a bitch.

Fortunately, we now had Steiner and Freya joining us, so I only had to do half the work as before. Of course, I could have had it worse. Zidane got pegged with keeping Quina from eating the Regent. My suggestion to tie Cid to Zidane's chest went ignored though, despite its brilliance. Quina wouldn't be tempted to eat Cid if he were stuck to Quina's best friend, now would he?

The trip across the ocean took us only a week. We had enough dried foods to last us a month, as well as fishing rods should we ever desire seafood, but it was good to finally hit dry land. The prospects of new foods crossed my mind almost immediately. Dry meat only tastes good for… well it never really does.

As soon as we landed, Vivi tried to take off for the Black Mage village. Thanks to Cid navigating (as well as me pointing out the beach on the world map in the first place), we found a sandy beach we could moor the ship on for a while. Blank stayed behind to watch the ship while the rest of us wandered off into the familiar woods. Vivi took point, running ahead of the rest of us. Most of us did our best to keep up. Amarant didn't care enough and Cid didn't have the stamina he needed as a frog to run for long. Cid just settled for hopping along with Amarant as he walked lazily.

Meanwhile, we broke through the village's defenses. They had been left down, revealing a lush forest deep within a dead one. They weren't even trying to hide anymore. Then again, if they were all with Kuja now, why would they bother hiding? Vivi charged in, out of breath, to demand an answer.

"HELLO?" he shouted in the town's forum. The rest of us caught up to him as he looked around for any signs of life.

"Looks like nobody's here," Vivi said dejectedly.

"Where did they go?" Zidane asked.

"Looks like Cid was right," I said. "They went with Kuja."

"But there has to be a reason!" Vivi argued.

"He's right," I said. "We've met these guys. They didn't seem like they would want to go back to Kuja or killing."

"What are you talking about?" Zidane asked. "I've never met these guys before."

"Oh, right," I remembered. Hooray for me screwing up the storyline.

"I'm gonna go look around," Vivi decided. He ran off alone. He was getting bolder the more I knew him. It was a good change in him, I thought.

I started walking into the village on my own. Something came to mind that I wanted to check out.

"Trevor?" Zidane called after me. "Where are you going?"

"Follow Vivi," I said. "There's someone I have to see here."

"Someone?" he repeated. "Who?"

I just waved him off. I wanted to go to the synthesis shop to thank the two black mages working there, on the off chance they were still around. I had to thank them for the work they had done previously, and if possible, put in a new request. The quality they performed was second to none.

"_You really think they'll be there?_" Kaiten asked, reading my thoughts.

_Probably not,_ I told him. _But this village is abandoned. There's not much else to investigate._

I caught a glimpse of Vivi running into the graveyard. I hoped he could find the answers he wanted, but I knew he wouldn't. Kuja was manipulating the closest thing Vivi ever had to a people and a culture for his own personal gain. I know it would make me want to kill Kuja more if he had somehow done something to manipulate America to his own benefit.

The Black Cat Synth Shop's front door was left wide open. It looked like it was left in a hurry. Or, maybe the owners just didn't care to take any care of their shop. Their minds were too distracted by the moral dilemma they were facing and closing the door didn't occur to them.

I walked in, looking around and taking a brief inventory. There didn't seem to be any sign of the owners, or anything I could use. As I was afraid of, they weren't here.

"Well, this was time well spent," I muttered.

"_It figures,_" Kaiten said. "_There are only three left in the village, right? The old one and the two taking care of the chocobo egg?"_

"Yeah, Mr. 288. I don't remember the other guys' names."

"_Hopefully the kid won't feel too bad after the old mage gives him the news._"

"I hope. At least this trip advances the storyline. Can't say it does much good beyond that."

"_Don't be so sure. Look over there."_

I glanced to a workbench on one side of the room. I didn't see it at first, but after a moment, I saw a leather strap hanging on the side by a hook. Attached to it was a pair of sheathes, each long enough to accompany my new short swords.

"Good eye," I said, examining the sheathes. I picked them up while placing my old ones on the table. They were still in good condition, so it seemed like an even trade. I left them behind while I adjusted the new sheathes around my belt.

"There," I said, sliding my orange short swords in. "Perfect fit."

"_Maybe this wasn't such a waste after all._"

"So it seems. C'mon, we need to get back to the others." As I said it, I noticed my odd choice of words. As if Kaiten had a choice but to come with me.

By the time I walked out, Vivi had already left. Mr. 288 was walking up from the graveyard, carefully pondering his situation. He didn't even see me until I was right next to him.

"You alright?" I asked. "You seem distracted."

"Oh, you?" he recalled. "You were the one who was with the young one last time he was here. Vivi…"

"Yeah, I'm Trevor," I said, extending my hand. "Nice to see you remember me."

"It would be poor manners to forget one of the few humans who was ever kind to us," Mr. 288 said, shaking my hand.

"Good to know, but is everything alright? I'm sure Vivi just came to see you."

"Yes, your friend," Mr. 288 said, slightly withdrawing. "He came to me for advice again. I don't know why, but many of the other mages view me as the wisest in the village."

"Well, you carry a staff and you're probably one of the oldest members of the village. You carry the perfect image of a wise elder." Even though it was true, Mr. 288 had been created like everyone else. I was guessing at his age, but compared to how a human would look, the mage barely looked older than thirty.

"Perhaps," Mr. 288 considered. "However, I can only give you the same information that I gave him." Mr. 288 shifted uncomfortably, using his staff to support himself. "Several more of our village have died, but not to injury. The other members discovered that we have a limited lifespan—that we can die of old age. The thought terrified them, so when Kuja offered a way to expend it, they flocked to him."

It made sense for this fledgling race to be so joyfully ignorant. They had only just been created after all.

"And you didn't go with them because…?"

Mr. 288 was silent. He only stared at the head of his staff, like he was trying to ignore the question.

I folded my arms in understanding. I knew he didn't fully understand why, but perhaps I could provide an answer.

"You knew that Kuja was lying, didn't you?" I asked. "You could tell that he was manipulating you into helping him for his plans."

"Perhaps," Mr. 288 finally answered. "I had my suspicions."

"You stayed behind because you knew that helping Kuja would lead to more deaths. Sacrificing yourself by accepting your life as it is limited could have potentially saved hundreds of people. If the rest of the village had followed your example, you could have saved the whole planet."

Mr. 288 looked at me curiously. "Do you think we could have had such a dramatic affect against Kuja?"

I nodded. "He's lost the Eidolons he had control over. He was hurt and weak after his attack was countered in Alexandria. Manipulating the black mages was the last thing he could possibly do to maintain his plot."

"I see," Mr. 288 realized. "Then I have failed as a leader and as a person since I did not see it sooner. I let my people join a man who would ruin this world for his own personal gain."

This was not the direction I was hoping for. "Not necessarily. You could still help us by telling us where Kuja's base is. I swear none of the black mages will be hurt."

Mr. 288 thought for a moment, then shook his head. "But is it right for me to do so? I failed my people once, but if I tell you where to find them, I've betrayed them. I can't do it. I'm sorry."

This was hopeless. I screwed up and only made the problem worse. I could always recover since I knew where to find Kuja's base anyway, but Mr. 288 seemed a lot more depressed now.

"Excuse me," he said. "I need to be alone to think." He turned around and shuffled back towards the graveyard.

"Yeah, sure," I said weakly. I wanted to punch a wall, or just hit something. It seemed like everything I did now made things worse. If I wasn't careful, I'd probably end up killing one of the other heroes. Knowing my luck so far, it would be Zidane or Vivi. I would hate myself so much if that happened.

I decided it was time to make my way back towards the others. The village looked nice, so I rook my time strolling around.

I soon found myself walking along a small river flowing through the middle of the village. The black mages had already discovered using water wheels to power things like furnaces and fans. It showed a lot of ingenuity, or so I thought.

However, walking along the river, I was soon distracted when I saw a bridge, small and simple, crossing it, lined with an ornate handrail. A row of flowered lined each side of the bridge. Someone had put a lot of effort into beautifying his part of the river.

It was familiar. I had seen this before, and not from the last time I was in this village either…

Suddenly, there was a flash, like someone had just taken a picture with an overly large flash bulb. The scenery didn't change at all, but I could no longer hear the wind blowing through the trees, and the river sounded different. I found out what had happened a moment later when I saw myself walking across the bridge and plopping down on it, looking down at the river.

"Oh god," I muttered. "Another hallucination?"

I saw myself from high school lay back, hands behind his head and bask in the sunlight. This place was a fun hangout spot for me when I was younger. I always liked the woods behind my house since the river was a cool place, but more importantly—

"Hey Trevor."

My high school self and I looked up to see the most beautiful girl ever sitting next to him. Her raven hair brushed gently against her shoulders like silk and her dark eyes only made the rest of her seem even brighter. She wore a cute smile and a pink shirt, as well as cut-off jeans stretching only to the knees.

Nicole, my old girlfriend.

"You're late," my younger self accused.

"Sorry," she giggled. I always loved that laugh of hers. "I had homework to finish. Unlike _someone_, I actually care about getting into a good college."

"Hey, I care!" he said. "I already have something lined up. My father's taking me to some college in Ohio that he went to."

"Aww… but that's so far away!" Nicole pouted. My younger self turned away, unable to look at her like that and not blush. I had to turn away as well. Even after all these years, the memory of her had this affect on me.

"Are you sure you want to go that far?" she asked sweetly. "I don't want to be apart. Is there anything I can do to convince you?" As she spoke, she gently and slowly came closer until she was sitting on my younger self's stomach, legs straddling him.

"God you're tempting," my younger self said, holding onto her by the waist.

"I know," she grinned, and leading in for a kiss.

I had to look away for a moment, not from embarrassment, but because it just hurt too much to see her like this again. I had just gotten over her after I moved to college. She was perfect… everything I wanted in a girl…and I was too stupid and arrogant to realize it at the time.

Nicole finished the kiss and laid on top of my younger self, cuddling him by pressing her head into his chest. He, in turn, wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. I missed that feeling so much…

"You'll have to call me every day at college," she insisted.

"I know."

"And we have to spend every day together when we come home on break."

"Of course."

"And we should celebrate before we leave! Something special that we never do!"

"I already thought of that," my younger self said. "I got reservations at that fancy French place you're always looking at."

"Oh my god, really?" she shouted excitedly. "Thank you Trevor! Thank you, thank you!"

She immediately began to smother him with kisses. It wasn't until he finally caught a break that he was able to laugh and remind her, "You'll have to wait for it. Graduation isn't for another few months."

"I know, but I don't care!" she said, kissing him again on the neck. "You're the best boyfriend ever!"

"You're not so bad yourself," my younger self said, kissing her back gently and passionately.

Nicole kissed him back before hugging him tightly. "I love you so much," she said quietly.

My younger self looked down at her. It had taken so long for them both to admit how they felt, and even after they both said it, it was still a little embarrassing for Nicole. Still, that was one of the cuter qualities about her.

"I love you too," Trevor said back.

There was a moment of peaceful silence until Nicole popped her head up, staring at Trevor with her chin pressed up on his chest. "Ssooo… your dad…" she began slowly, and blushing like mad. "He's not home… is he?"

"Um, no," my younger self said quickly. "He's gone for the rest of the day."

Nicole bit her lower lip nervously. "Ok… then maybe we could go there and… you know…uh…"

"I think I know what you mean…" younger Trevor said. His hands slowly slid down Nicole's waist, down to her hips…

A shrill cry broke the moment and resounded throughout the air. A howl mixed with a whine echoed in the woods. It clearly wasn't human.

"What was that?" Nicole asked. She snapped out of her thoughts from a moment ago, much to my younger self's disappointment, and stood up. "It sounded like a puppy somewhere. I think it's hurt!"

Nicole always cared about animals. She had two cats at home that she adopted from a shelter. Helping an animal always took priority for her. My younger self just groaned, trying to withhold his momentary anger. Getting cockblocked by a puppy would do that to any guy.

"C'mon!" Nicole said, pulling my younger self to his feet. "We have to help him!"

She quickly pulled younger me up and ran down the river where we heard the sound. I watched at the two figures wandered off. I came back into reality and saw the bridge over the water for what it was: a nice little part of the Black Mage Village.

I was in Gaia, I had the soul of a Terran Special Forces Lieutenant stuck in my head, and I hadn't seen Nicole in almost two years. All I had seen was a memory, somehow projected into real life. I wonder briefly if others could see it, or if the memories impacted anything at all.

_Hey, Kaiten_? I asked in order to find out. _Did you see…_

I was cut off in my thoughts when I saw Nicole again, standing before me. It didn't seem like a memory. It was more like she was just staring at me. The real me.

Her eyes were red from crying.

"Nicole?" I asked apprehensively.

"You killed him!" she accused me. "How could you be so cruel?"

"Wait, stop!" I knew this memory, and even though I probably couldn't talk to her, I still felt compelled to try and reason with her. "It's not like you think!"

"I hate you! I never want to see you again!"

"Wait, stop!" I pleaded with the image. "Let me explain!"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

That was the defining moment. I didn't try to resist anymore. Nicole ran off into the woods of the Black Mage Village. I wanted to chase after her, to explain how everything leading to that particular point had happened, and why it wasn't my fault.

It hurt so much to see her running away. I clamped my hand over my chest as the pain started to grip me. My heart felt like it was splitting in half.

She never even gave me a chance.

"Trevor?"

I looked up at another familiar voice. At first glance, I thought it was Nicole again, but instead, it was just Freya, standing next to Dagger.

"What are you doing?" Freya asked. "Who's Nicole and why were you yelling for someone to stop?"

I rose, embarrassed that I had made myself look like an idiot in public again. How bad were these hallucinations going to get? I blushed and tried not to face the girls, especially Dagger. I hadn't really thought about it before, but she looked just like Nicole in a lot of ways.

"Nobody," I lied. "I… haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately. I think I'm just seeing things."

"Seeing things?" Freya asked. "You should have stayed on the boat if you're not feeling well."

Dagger's look of concern was too much for me to handle just then. Her sad eyes were exactly the same when—

_NO_! I shouted at myself. I couldn't let my thoughts get bogged down like that. I barely pulled myself up from the first time, after Nicole dumped me. I dug my nails into the sides of my head to get the thoughts out of my mind.

"I'll be fine," I told Freya, turning away from them both. "Let's just get Zidane and Vivi so we can leave."

"Alright," Freya said, with more than a hint of concern in her voice. "If you say so."

I started to walk away, but Zidane and Vivi came rushing towards us from the chocobo hut. Another pair of black mages had stayed in the village to care for an abandoned chocobo egg they had found. It was a remarkable turn for them towards parenthood, of sorts.

"We found it!" Vivi shouted excitedly. "We need to go now!"

"Hold on!" Freya said. "Found what?"

"Kuja's base," Zidane said. "And where the other black mages have gone."

"Mr. 288 changed his mind and told us," Vivi explained. He spoke with a determination that I had rarely seen in him.

"There's a desert to the east on this continent," Zidane said. "Kuja has a palace underneath a sand pit. We'll sneak in, take him by surprise, and finish this in one go."

"Is that all the information we have to go on?" Freya asked. "It'll be risky if Kuja has any kind of defense up. What will happen if we fall right into a trap, or worse, if he's expecting us to come? We shouldn't underestimate him."

"But we have to try something," I said. "He's cunning. Very cunning. Kuja's probably planned for at least three other contingencies. This way, we can at least control some portion of what goes on."

"We have to save the black mages!" Vivi shouted. "We have to stop Kuja from using them!"

"Either way, we're wasting time," Zidane said. "Let's find the others and get back to the boat. It's going to take us a while to sail to the other side of the continent."

Zidane took the lead again as we headed out of the village. I stayed in the back, wondering if everything was going to be okay. I had to keep the storyline going as best I could. I couldn't afford to screw up again and ruin anything else. The events in Lindblum during Alexandria's invasion were too close for comfort. Only dumb luck kept us going.

_Hey, Kaiten_? I tried asking again.

"_What?_" he asked, finally answering me.

_I had another hallucination earlier. Did you see it at all_?

"_Another one? Damn…_"

_So, I guess that means you didn't see it, huh?_

"_Well, there was a moment back there,_" he said mysteriously. "_You tried calling me before, remember? I called back, but you didn't respond. Didn't you hear me?_"

_You called back_? I tried to recall, but I really didn't hear Kaiten speak back to me at all.

"_It was like something was blocking you from me._"

This was getting worse by the minute. The fragile connection I had to Kaiten was the one trump card I had through all these events. If I lost that, then everything was at risk. I had to protect that connection no matter what, but without knowing what I was even going against, how was I supposed to mount a defense?

XXXXXXXX

Our trip east only took us three days.

The desert we saw was nothing like the one we saw outside of Madain Sari. In the western part of the Outer Continent, the ground was dry, arid and cracked. Here, there was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. Once we landed on the coast, it was as if the beach just extended forever. Finding the sand pit we needed would have been impossible if I didn't already know where to go. Perhaps playing through Final Fantasy IX over two dozen times was a good thing.

"So, is this it?" Zidane asked, standing outside the outer rim of the sand pit. Its sands dragged down, into a single point, like in an hourglass.

"It's gotta be," I said, pointing to the center of the pit. "Look there."

In the middle was a small, rounded structure made of glass. It let light in below, meaning something, or more importantly someone, had to be down there.

"Alright, then we have our plan of attack!" Zidane announced to the other eight of us. "I'll go first and smash into the palace. We should be able to break in and go one by one. Stay together so that whatever Kuja might have ready for us won't take us down."

"This is reckless," Steiner said. He was sweating in his heavy armor, and I was sure that all that metal was scalding hot in the sunlight. I didn't envy him. "You could just as well be leading us into an ambush."

"Who cares?" Amarant blurted out. He folded his arms and impatiently waited at the edge of the sand pit, risking getting pulled in. "As long as I get to fight, everything will work out."

"Aya! I hot," Quina complained. His tongue dragged down and looked like it risked licking the sand. "Maybe Kuja's hideout is cooler?"

"Just stick together," Zidane said. "We'll be fine if we watch out for each other."

With that, Zidane hesitated no more. He leapt down the sand pit and started surfing his way to the glass dome. Amarant was close behind him and I followed third.

As soon as Zidane was close, he stabbed the glass dome, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. They fell harmlessly to the ground below the dome or were quickly lost under the shifting sand. Amarant jumped first, breaking the rest of the glass with his body and clearing the way for the rest of us. Zidane, not to be outdone by him, went in second.

I looked down, losing sight of Zidane instantly. The light didn't pierce the darkness beyond a few feet. I stood at the edge of the shattered dome and took a deep breath.

_Here we go,_ I thought. _Ready partner?_

"_Let's do it,_" Kaiten agreed.

With a sharp yelp, I jumped in, ready to attack whatever Kuja had ready for us.

But the light didn't travel below the shattered glass entryway. As soon as we entered, we all fell into darkness…

XXXXXXXX

It's the chapter that almost wasn't! :D

I almost had to skip this month's chapter (the first time in about a year and a half! XD). Due to my getting fully certified at work (no more mentor watching over my shoulder! Yay! XD), finishing my book (more yay! XD), and some drama at home (not yay! O.o), Shattered Mind had to take a back seat. Fortunately, I had a good amount of free time over the weekend, so you get to read Shattered Mind on time, if only a little shorter than normal. :P

Still, better than nothing, right?

I'll try to make a new ATE sometime soon to make up for it. ^^

PREVIEW!

After capturing the world heroes, Kuja sends Zidane and friends to Oeilvert, where they discover the hidden secrets of Terra. Kaiten reverts back to his old life, living in the military during a time of war, leading his squad, the renowned Spectral Knights.

You will finally know Kaiten's story…

Chapter 9- Blood and Nightmares, Part 1


	9. Blood and Nightmares, Part 1

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: It seems odd to me how in the last few months I've been writing these chapters only in the last week before the 9th. :P Damn job is making it harder to write, as I had feared. Still, I'd rather have money than go back to living on $100 a year. .

In other news, I've decided to start giving more credit to the music videos that I watch/listen to while I write. Music influences my style a lot, so when I find a really good new song, I like to listen for most of the time I'm writing. You can check my profile under 'External Links' to find the new music video each month.

The one this month really made me wonder how awesome it would be if Trevor was somehow involved in Final Fantasy: Dissidia. XD (Possible future story idea…?)

And now, Kaiten gets his time in the spotlight. :D Just remember, not only do you see Kaiten's past, but you also meet his team, the feared Spectral Knights. Chances are, if something seems misspelled, it's either a place name, or one of his troops. I tried not to barrage you with too much at first, since I'll need another chapter at least to tell the whole story. ;)

RIP my spell check function. :P

Chapter 9: Blood and Nightmares, Part 1

XXXXXXXX

"Oh god," I said, rubbing my aching head. "What the hell happened?"

"_About time you woke up_," Kaiten said sharply. "_Look where we are._"

It didn't take long to know what had happened. I was in a small, circular room, with metal walls and a sealed door. Something had knocked us out as soon as we dropped into Kuja's palace and we were thrown into these holding cells.

"Well this is perfect," I said. "Any idea how long we're been in here?"

"_I've only been awake for a few minutes. The room is sealed tight though. No way out from here._"

"No way out, huh?" None of the others could get out while in the game, but they didn't have my brand of magic. I noticed the short sword in my hand and sat up, channeling energy into it while I faced the door. If I could just break open the seal…

"_That won't work,_" Kaiten said abruptly. "_I already tired it while you were asleep. The doors are immune to purple magic._"

"You did what?" I looked down and only then noticed that the doors were scorched and scratched. Kaiten really had tried to break out, but had failed. Still, I wished that he would have at least waited for me to wake up before doing something like that.

"_Kuja's certainly from Terra. He must have built this entire palace from Terran schematics._"

"What makes you say that?"

"_The architecture I've seen after rereading the memory books of this place look just like palaces from Olesta, my country from Terra._"

"So he has delusions of grandeur. Like we didn't know that already."

There was no way to open the door, and no way to destroy it apparently. All we could do was wait.

"_So, now what?_" Kaiten asked after a minute of silence. "_This is where the team splits up, right?_"

"Yup," I said. "Kuja forces half the team goes to Oeilvert, while the other half breaks out of here and destroys Kuja's palace defenses."

"_Which do you think we'll end up doing?_"

"Dunno. Kuja's gonna force Zidane to choose the teams. It's up to him."

"_I suppose. Which would you prefer?_"

I had to think for a moment. It wasn't like either was particularly favorable. One had us breaking Kuja's stuff, which would cause no end of fun, but the other was an ancient, hidden library full of information. Besides, Kaiten would be able to translate the Terran scribbles all over the walls in Oeilvert.

"Oeilvert, I guess," I finally answered. "You could be my tour guide and fill in the gaps for me."

"_I figured you'd say that…_"

"You ok? You sound hesitant."

"_Trevor, you have to understand… Oeilvert is…_" Kaiten paused for a moment to compose himself. "_According to your memory books, it's a record of my people._"

"So? That should make it more interesting, wouldn't it? It'd be like a history class."

"_You don't understand! I grew up on the streets. When I finally started to make something of myself… when I joined the military, I fell in love with it. I had spent my entire life crawling around in the gutter with people stepping all over me. But when the government found out I could use Purple magic, they helped me up, gave me a place to stay… they trained me. I became an instrument for them and gave them total devotion._"

I sat in utter silence. Kaiten had never opened up to me before, so this was certainly different. However, what really caught my attention was the fact that Kaiten, despite how courageous and hardheaded he had been so far, sounded scared.

"Are you ok?" I had to ask.

"_No, I'm not. When we attacked Ckelen-te-Clu, Terra was caught in a global war. I was fighting to protect my government and my squad, the only friends I had ever had. What am I supposed to do going into a hall of records? What if I found out we lost the war because I was careless and got captured?_"

"Well, you can't be completely unprepared for this, right?" I asked. "I mean, you've read the memory books about the place, didn't you?"

"_Oeilvert and Terra were the parts of your books I avoided. I don't know what's going to happen in the storyline from this point out… I just… I couldn't face it…_"

It was different being on this side of things. Normally, Kaiten was the one shouting to just go and be done with it all. Instead, I had to be the one to encourage him to try harder. It almost sounded absurd as I tried to think of what to say to him.

"Just try not to worry about it man," I said, unsure of what I was even saying. "I'll be there to help however I can."

"_Thanks, like I hadn't already figured that much out._"

"Hey, I'm trying to help. You don't have to be an ass about it."

We probably would have continued arguing, except the door opened as I was leaning against it. I fell backwards into the hallway and landed on a posh, fuzzy carpet. It was a rich red, mixed with detailed images of flowers with greens, purples and oranges. I would only expect to see something like this in a mansion.

"Trevor?"

I looked to the side and saw Freya stepping out of another room. There were eight other doors like mine, all lined up in a semi-circle. Another room had already been opened—Zidane's probably—and a fourth was opening on the far side. Amarant stepped out, looking as pissed off as usual.

"What the hell's going on?" I asked. "What knocked us out?"

"I didn't see it," Freya said, helping me to my feet. "We landed in the palace and all of a sudden, everything went dark."

"Doesn't matter," Amarant said bluntly. "We're out. Now we can start breaking stuff."

"But what about the others?" Freya asked. "We need to find them!"

"They've gotta be in these other rooms," I said, pointing to the closed doors.

"Then let's break them open!" Freya said, pulling her spear back.

"I wouldn't do that," came a voice over an intercom. I recognized it at once as Kuja's voice. "I would so hate for you to destroy my property, or for you to be late on your next 'mission'. Step into the teleportation pad across the room."

We all looked down a narrow hallway and saw a runic glyph suddenly light up. I knew it was the right thing to do to follow the command, but I couldn't help but be a little unsure. This was Kuja we were talking about after all.

"That's clearly a trap," Amarant said, defiantly crossing his arms.

"I agree," Freya said. "We should find a way to free everyone, then take Kuja down like we planned!"

"You would never make it in time," Kuja's voice proclaimed.

Before we could retort, there was a loud grinding sound. The room started to shake and grow hotter. It only took a second to understand why.

The floors of the cells we had been occupying opened up in the center and a flaming charcoal pit appeared below the floor. If those floors opened up the entire way, the others still trapped in their cells would fall to their deaths. And if my magic couldn't open the doors, then there was no way to save them without Kuja killing them all first.

We had to do what he said.

"This can't be good," Freya muttered under her breath

"Agreed," I said.

We walked to the teleportation pad, even though we knew full well that it was what Kuja wanted. I hated having to comply with bad guys.

As soon as all three of us were on it, the runes of the teleportation pad lit up. Rings surrounded the perimeter and started to transport us. My body tingled as parts started to fall off, but there was no pain, only a sense of displacement. As soon as my head started to tingle, I found out why. I was quickly transported to a docking bay at the side of Kuja's palace. I watched as the rest of my body came into place beneath me. I had existed in two spots at once! Or at least, I had body parts in two places at once. It was an interesting phenomenon, but I couldn't help but wonder what could possibly go wrong with such technology.

Freya and Amarant were teleported with me, and we all hopped off the pad as soon as we could. They looked as alarmed as I did.

"What the hell was that?" Amarant demanded.

"Teleportation," I said, though I fell to my knees, barely able to comprehend it myself. "He moved us from our holding cells to his garage in an instant."

"I'll believe that," Freya said, clearly distracted. "Now, can you tell me what _that_ is?"

Freya pointed at a large metallic wall. Or, that was what I thought it was at first. When I stepped back to look at it as a whole, I realized that it was actually the side of an enormous ship!

The Hilde Garde.

The enormous grey ship was basically a giant head. The front paneling almost made it look like it had a face, and the body was swept back for aerodynamics, making it look like styled hair. I remembered playing the game for the first time and wondering if Cid had designed the ship to look like his wife.

It was a revolution in airship design. Now, not only could the overly rich get ships with their faces on them, but this ship wasn't powered by mist, like every other airship on Gaia. This was the first steam-powered airship ever. And since we killed Soulcage and stopped the production of mist, it was the only functional airship left on the planet.

"I guess we're going on a trip," I said.

"We are."

There was a soft _woosh_ of the teleportation pad as Zidane appeared behind us suddenly. "Kuja wants us going to this place called Oeilvert to get this thing called the 'Gulug Stone'. This ship will take us there."

"Nice of you to join us Zidane," Freya said.

"Kuja wanted to meet with me in private," Zidane explained. "He wanted me to lead this trip into Oeilvert because I can't use magic and there's an anti-magic barrier around the place."

_Shit!_ I realized. I had forgotten about that. With it in place, I probably couldn't use my magic either. My only hope was that I wasn't affected because purple magic didn't appear in the game.

"Anti-magic?" Freya asked. "So I won't be able to use my Dragon magic?"

"I'm afraid not," Zidane admitted. "Not if Kuja's telling the truth. He told me to bring three allies to help me get this stone. And since I had to get the stone or risk him killing everyone, I couldn't take that chance."

"Don't you think this is part of another evil plot of his?" I asked. "He's too ambitious. He's planning something."

"We don't have a choice either way," Zidane said. "Let's get on the airship and get this over with before Kuja tries to kill the others for the hell of it."

XXXXXXXX

The ride to Oeilvert took us 2 days. Not bad considering that we were continent jumping.

In that time, we were given a small room for us all to share. There was less space here than when I shared a double with my roommate in college. Still, we managed to make it work with constant trips around the ship. Since we spent most of the trip over the ocean, a hostile takeover would probably turn against us, crashing with no way to get back to the others.

Zidane spent his time trying to talk to the Black Mages on board, trying to get them to talk, to tell him why they joined Kuja. He had no luck.

I however, had the luck of running into the jester twins again.

"Oh, you two," I said as I was wandering the halls of the Hilde Garde.

"The long haired one," Zorn said with more than a hint of anger.

"Remember you, we do," his brother Thorn said, showing the same anger.

"We could order the Black Mage puppets to throw you overboard right now," Zorn mocked.

"But the time for revenge is not now," Thorn finished up.

"Are you sure?" I asked them while cracking my knuckles. "Last time you only cleared a few feet in the air. This time I think I could kick you into the ceiling."

Zorn and Thorn glanced at each other nervously. Last time we had met, I had kicked Thorn in the gut to stop him from casting any magic. It was fun and I really wanted to try that again. "Y-you wouldn't dare!" Zorn said.

"Try me," I told them, stepping slowly closer. "I want to see if Yoda-boy can literally cough up a lung this time."

Zorn and Thorn both took a rapid step back for each one I took forward. "Uh, we must check our course!" Zorn suddenly shouted.

"Check our course, we must!" Thorn agreed.

The two of them ran off for the safety of the bridge. Nothing stopped me from following them and kicking the crap out of them, but I needed them alive just so we could get back to the palace. I didn't know how to find Kuja's garage again from Oeilvert.

XXXXXXXX

We were dropped off in the middle of the Forgotten Continent, in some plains just outside a large series of canyons. Because of how narrow some of the canyons were, the airship couldn't get us closer, so we had no choice but to make the rest of the trip on foot.

We marched for five hours.

The sun was set low in the sky, casting even more darkness over the already dim pathways. It was mostly dumb luck that got us to our destination in time, although Kaiten offered a few helpful hints along the way. The orange rocks cast a glow everywhere, making the entrance to Oeilvert even more mystical.

"Is that it?" Amarant asked as we approached the last length of canyon.

In the distance, we could see a strange structure. An ornate, stone building was molded into the canyon wall itself, hiding most of the Terran facility beneath rock millenniums old. Fine designs had started to erode away, leaving dust and rubble piling up all around the front door. There was even a long overhand above the door, possibly to protect from weathering. It looked like the top half of an enormous alligator head at least fifty feet long. It was a challenge to see the front door underneath its shadow.

"I guess so," Zidane said. "Let's just get this over with before it gets too dark to see."

We started towards the colossal door, but I couldn't help but stare in awe. This was a Terran structure. When did they put this here? And if what would happen to it if Terra's plans for Gaia came to fruition? What were they thinking? So many questions swam about that I nearly tripped over Amarant as we reached the wide staircase.

"This must be the entrance," Zidane said as he stood before the massive twin doors. The grey portal was decorated in large panels forming beautiful flowers and intricate designs like a mural.

Zidane pushed against the door while the rest of us stood back. I didn't know what Freya or Amarant were thinking, but I was already impressed by the Terran architecture. To be able to survive as long as it had was an impressive feat.

After a few moments of fruitless struggle, Zidane fell to his knees, grasping his arms as they started to cramp up on him.

"There's no way I can open a door this big," he said.

"Then how do we get in?" Freya asked.

"Side entrance?" Amarant suggested.

We didn't even have to go far. Before we could suggest anything else, the doors opened by themselves. It wasn't by much, probably because of years of absolutely no use, but it was enough that we could get in.

"Well, that was odd," I said.

"I dunno what's going on," Zidane said. "But I guess we gotta go inside."

Kaiten sighed as we entered. "_It's both horrifying and an honor to be here._"

_You act like this place will be the death of you,_ I told him.

"_And you act like it's just some petty museum. This is not a place of mysticism and wonder._"

_Alright, then what is it?_

"_This is a place of blood and nightmares._"

Oeilvert, the hall of Terran records, was a musty old place. Dust covered every single thing within the expansive front hall. Chunks of rocks had fallen out of the walls and various pillars, collapsing at least one platform above us and blocking several of the archways inside the front hall. There was an impressive glass window on the far wall letting in some light, but much of the glass had collapsed onto the floor. There were only a few other rooms that we could go through without excavation mounds of stones.

"It's so dark in here," Zidane said. "Does anyone see a torch?"

"_Over there,_" Kaiten said. "_Press the large round stone on the wall._"

_Large stone?_ I looked around for a moment, not sure what to look at, until I saw a yellow stone set against the wall, about the size of a baseball cut in half. I touched it and felt some energy traveling within the stone. Seconds later, a trail of light lead from the one stone as it lit up and crept up to another larger stone resting on the ceiling. The ceiling stone lit up, providing ample light to the cavernous Oeilvert. I could see rooms through various archways lighting up as well.

"That works," I said, staring in wonder.

"_Powerstone,_" Kaiten explained briefly. "_We used them for all sorts of tasks. I guess they're similar to light bulbs on Earth. They should stay on like this as long as they have enough energy stored._"

"Good work Trevor," Zidane said. "How did you know that would work?"

"Lucky guess?" I shrugged. "I just leaned against the right part of the wall."

I missed the music from this part of the game. Oeilvert was so quiet and echoed so much that it was downright creepy. We crept into the next room, looking everywhere, impressed by the sights.

"We must be the first people in here in hundreds of years," Freya said, astonished.

"Probably," Zidane said, suddenly serious. "Just be careful. Anything in here could collapse at any time."

The next room was much smaller than the front lobby, but there were several rooms branching off. However, what we noticed first was a small dip in the middle of the floor. A faint light was pouring out of it and seemed to provide all the light in the room. I wondered for a moment if the rock I touched had caused this.

The light in the room must have had a proximity trigger, because as soon as we passed by it, it projected an image. A holographic picture of a planet appeared before us, huge and wide, filling up much of the empty space in the room. It was a red planet, but had many thick clouds swirling slowly around it. A single moon graced the top of it, but that was probably for show.

"The hell?" Zidane said. "Is that… a planet?"

"Looks like it," Amarant said with his arms folded. We all stood by and looked at it for a moment, but suddenly, red words appeared before it in a language I couldn't recognize.

"Is that writing?" Freya was quick to ask.

None of us had an answer, but Zidane seemed particularly interested in it. "…Mother… Terra…" he spoke a moment later. We all looked at him in confusion.

"Aw… I can't make it out," Zidane said after another long moment.

"You can read that?" Freya asked. "I guess you are a man of many talents."

"It's not that I can read it," Zidane admitted. "It's more like the words are talking to me. I don't even know why."

_Kaiten? Translation?_

"_Get me closer._"

As the others lost interest and looked for another room to enter, I took a step closer, centering myself before the hologram. There was silence for a moment, perhaps as Kaiten was adjusting to the image.

_Anything?_

"_This is…_" he started a moment later. After a moment, he started translating again. "_Fellow scientists, our planet is dying… The crystal is weakening to a point where we can no longer control it. If we cannot restore its power using the ancient Fusion process, then our Mother planet will shrivel and die underneath our feet…_" I could hear Kaiten choking up as he struggled with the next few words.

_Are you alright?_

But he ignored me. "_Master Garland has felt it necessary to take hasty action. With no life-sustaining planet within reach, we have decided to strike out against a young planet. Its people have barely come out of their caves, but its crystal is strong. Should the merge with this new planet work, Terra will flourish for several more millennia. Should it fail, we will have no other options, and our long line of immortality shall be extinguished…"_

"Trevor, you coming?" Zidane called from across the room.

"Give me a minute," I called back. _Kaiten?_ I asked out of concern for my partner. _How you holding up? And what did that message mean by immortality?_

"…_I failed…_"

_Failed? You mean to save Terra?_

"_If my boys and I… if that MONSTER Hart Innural hadn't… Maybe we…_"

Kaiten was having a breakdown. Whatever stresses he had in his former life, he was revealing it now.

I was losing him…

XXXXXXXX

_**Astul 15**__**th**__**, 41301- Enulian Fields, Brummia. 7**__**th**__** year of the Grand War**_

The battle had been going just as planned so far.

The mighty Olestan Army had engaged the retreating Brummians at their fortress defense in the Enulian Fields, the final point before the Rugalli Mountains. They needed to bypass the fortress in order to clear the way to the Brummian capital city. The war had been raging for six years already, and only recently, since the addition of Olesta's new Special Forces team, had either side displayed much advancement.

The Olestan general watched the projected hologram in his war room, far, far away from the actual battle. His graying hair and lengthy beard were often thought of as a testament to the energy he put into his battles. Always trading one victory for every loss, he made it a point to counter Brummia's every advance and push them back to their borders.

"General!" cried a scout dashing into the tall general's side. He saluted as he panted out of breath. "Captain Koltras has lost half of his forces. He can't hold out much longer. The fortress's cannon fire has already taken out his east flank! And we still haven't found all of their anti-aerial guns in the area, so bombers and missiles won't work."

The general, an old but wise man, nodded in acknowledgement. "Tell the captain his men's lives will not be wasted. The distraction he's providing is everything we need to get the Lieutenant into that accursed building." The general paused to reposition a few of the icons on the holographic map before him. "Captain Koltras should retreat to these positions and hold his ground. Return fire with every long ranged weapon he has left."

"Yes sir!" the soldier saluted, quickly returning to his station to radio the message out.

The general tapped at the radio at his side. He flipped several channels until he found the right one. He pressed his earpiece once and took a deep breath.

"Lieutenant Saeis, report."

There was a moment of static before the response came. "Saeis, copy. In position and awaiting orders to proceed, over."

"Captain Koltras is retreating, as planned. Take your men and destroy that base, over."

"Roger that, over and out."

The general sighed, stroking his beard. This was a desperate move, going against such a strong enemy like this, but it had to be done.

The fate of Terra rested in his hands.

XXXXXXXX

Kaiten Saeis, the up and coming commander of the Special Tactics Squadron, leaned against the wall in the small storage room after tunneling into this wing of the fortress with half of his team. He adjusted the blue metallic plate armor that most of his team wore. The twin katanas on his back fell into place and crossed behind him. Always willing to risk it all for his country of Olesta, the brave Lieutenant stood in the dark room and pressed his finger to his ear.

"Aitris?" he called into his earpiece. "You there?"

"Right here boss," Aitris responded quickly. "We're all in place on the eastern side."

"Good. I have everyone else on the west."

Allumant Fortress struck fear into the hearts of most Olestans. However, Kaiten's team found the prospect of going in alone exciting. They were used to suicidal missions, and the more glory their wins got them, the more they wanted the next battle.

To the enemy, they were ghosts and monsters.

To their allies, they were the Spectral Knights.

"I'm sure we could just flatten everything from here," Aitris said over the radio.

"We need to get the Intel from their command center and you know it," Kaiten was quick to scold. "Seriously, it's always breaking things with you. Besides, you know this place's reputation. I can't have my sergeant getting himself killed."

There was a chuckle over the radio. "He told you off Sarge."

"Shut up Makareth," Aitris shot back.

"Shut up all of you," Kaiten scolded again. All nine of his troops came from different backgrounds, but all of them seemed to have problems with military procedure. Still, behavior aside, they were the best team in Olesta, so Kaiten wasn't about to rag on them as long as they did their jobs.

"I just got the signal to move out," Kaiten said. "Aitris, take your team and destroy the inner defenses and the outer walls. Captain Koltras and his men will join us once the front cannons and casters are taken out. I'll lead the others deeper into the base and take their Intel, kill the base commander, and disable the rest of the base. Any questions?"

A deep voice cracked over the radio. "Can we raid their kitchen next? I'm starving."

Kaiten smirked, but did his best not to let it show in his voice. "Suck your gut in Borrik. You can eat when we get home."

"Aww, man…"

"You have your objectives!" Kaiten cried out. "Make them fear the Spectral Knights!"

"GARUUU!" came the team's warrior cry over the radio, resounding their resolve.

Then, all hell broke loose.

XXXXXXXX

Cyl Brensit was the first of Kaiten's solders in action.

After crashing through a wall with his enormous greatsword, the massively armored solder went on a killing spree, cutting enemy soldiers in half before they were even close to him.

Cyl's armor weighed over a hundred pounds, but he ran in it like it was made of paper. Having grown so accustomed to it that he almost never removed it, Cyl was able to outmaneuver any heavy enemy he came across. Enemies shot at him without result, as bullets just bounced off like rubber.

His greatsword, nicknamed 'Zweil', was a tremendous claymore that was longer than he was tall, yet he found no difficulty in swinging it in the confined hallways of the fortress. Any wall or corner that got in his way just crumbled in his way, like stale plaster.

Cyl's job was to destroy the cannons along the front perimeter. Almost at once, Brummian soldiers abandoned their posts at their cannons to face the oncoming beast. However, their swords weren't even one quarter the size of his, so they never got close enough to counter his assault. He cut through them one by one, then slashed at the cannons' barrels, leaving them useless. Some still fired at Captain Koltras, but Cyl was sure to put a stop to that.

"Things are going well here," Cyl reported over the radio. His voice carried a heavy metallic echo in his suit of armor. "I'll need another few minutes to finish up."

"Copy that," Aitris replied. "Ank, make sure to finish up with those casters. Zareth, we need that outer wall down. We don't want that good captain out there getting too bored, do we?"

XXXXXXXX

"…We don't want that good captain out there getting bored, do we?"

"Roger that," Zareth replied.

Zareth Melth, the Spectral Knight's summoner, was a short man. He wore a tattered black cloak and kept his wide-brimmed hat low over his eyes. Unlike the others, he didn't wear the team's plate armor as he preferred to wait in the shadow and the blue tint made it easier to see him there. The most people usually saw of him was his eyes as they seemed to glow under his hat, just before he summoned another monster to engulf them.

The courtyard of the fortress was in complete disarray. While Cyl was busy taking out their cannons and Aiex was busy clearing out the barracks with his war hammer, the Brummian soldiers ran about in a panic.

The confusion was the perfect cover for the short caster.

Zareth pressed his hands together and began to chant. The foul and ancient words echoed in his head as he said them. However, concealed as he was, he was soon found out, as several Brummians took notice of the man with glowing eyes hiding in the shadows.

"Hey, we got one!" an enemy soldier called out. "G-get him before he does something!"

But Zareth was already finished. He barely had to glance up as he declared his summon's name.

"Zeromus…"

Suddenly, the air started to vibrate. A dark shadow spread from the fortress walls and extended into the middle of the courtyard. A ball of dark energy rose from the ground, swirling with dark colors like an oil spill. Within seconds, the sphere cracked, revealing a huge insect. Twenty feet long with a crab claw to match on its right hand, Zeromus, the Convicted Tyrant, was Zareth's gravity element summon.

The Brummians stared in horror as Zeromus aimed its stinger at the outer wall and charged up a shot. A dark ball of gravity tore through the fortress, absorbing any soldier unfortunate enough to get near it, until it crashed through the front wall.

The energy exploded and overwhelmed the outer perimeter, growing until it engulfed most of the exterior wall. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the sphere of gravity disappeared. What was left of the wall looked like it had been scooped away, leaving a circular curve to the remnant walls. The contents it had torn away from the wall had been condensed into a singularity only inches across.

Its job done, Zeromus was dismissed into the shadows.

"I take it that was Zareth's summon," Aitris said over the radio. "Cyl, Ank, are you guys alright?"

"I am fine," Cyl said after a moment.

"Holy hell!" Ank blurted out angrily. "Zareth, warn us next time you crazy asshole!"

But Zareth didn't reply. He just chose to sink back into the shadows.

XXXXXXXX

Remus Tilfan was the team's mage. He wore a wide brimmed hat, much like Zareth, but saw no reason to hide in the shadows like his silent friend. With the control he wielded not only over black magic, but also over purple magic, he was a traveling wave of destruction.

He strolled through the inner sanctums of Allumant Fortress with a smirk. The hallways he left behind were left burned _and_ frozen.

"I think I found their Intel," Makareth said. "Breaching the room now."

"Copy that," Kaiten responded.

Seconds later, Remus felt a small shockwave, accompanied by several screams coming from two floors below him. He shook his head and laughed. "Some guys have all the fun."

Several alarms were going off inside the fortress, but Remus could still hear the clattering of enemy soldiers marching towards him. He greeted the dozen heavily armed troops that met him around the corner, cutting him off from clearing out the rest of the hallway.

"Halt!" the lead soldier demanded. He aimed a polearm at Remus as he spoke. "We are the Rinoes Squadron, sworn defenders of this base! Surrender now and we'll promise you a swift death!"

Remus just met their threat with a laugh. "Aren't you guys cute?" He raised both hands. At first glance they were empty and harmless, but after a moment, both were steaming. His left hand had a trail of smoke falling to the floor while the right hand trailed a line of frost.

"It's like you think you can kill me," Remus said with a sadistic grin.

The lead soldier defiantly adjusted his stance before charging towards Remus down the hall. He made it five whole steps before his first foot planted itself and never moved again. Ice quickly overtook it, coating the soldier's entire body in ice. The soldier stared out of his suffocating prison long enough to see Remus launch the fireball straight through him. It melted the ice—as well as the soldier—all in one go.

Only the soldier's boots remained.

"He killed the sergeant!" one of the other Brummians shouted. "Get him!"

Remus smiled as the Brummians fell into the usual attack pattern. He powered a Fira spell in his hands, but rather than send it surging through the ground, he shot it out of his palms, engulfing half of the enemies before him with a flamethrower.

"I'm not even trying!" Remus taunted. "Do something new!"

A battle cry caught his attention as a new enemy came running down the hall to the mage's side with an axe raised above his head. Remus dodged at the last second as the axe slammed into the ground, cracking the floor and giving the Olestan a shock.

"Like that!" Remus said happily. "Almost worked!"

However, the axe-wielding soldier realized his mistake too late. Close range was only a disadvantage to mages who still needed to use a staff. Remus laid a hand on the soldier's back and sent a Thundara spell weaving through his body. The Brummian didn't even have enough time to scream in pain as his body was quickly cooked from the inside.

He collapsed in a smoldering heap.

"Now to finish up," Remus said.

He channeled the magic into the ground just behind the startled soldiers. After a short chant, the floor exploded. Even though they wore heavy armor that could withstand blows from all but the strongest of enemies, the Firaga spell burned them within their suits.

The two remaining soldiers backed away from the explosion, foolishly turning their backs to Remus. They turned back just in time to see the crazed mage charging at them with a giant icicle in each hand. He launched both of them at once, giving them enough force to pierce through the heavy armor and skewer the soldiers.

They soon fell to the floor, giving Remus a chance to catch his breath as he excitedly made his way deeper into the fortress.

"What fun," he said. "I wish I ran into more people like them."

Several minutes and a few tight corners later and Remus found himself looking at a large and securely sealed door. A sign was placed carefully over the top of the door, which read: Central Command Center.

"Lieutenant?" he called over his headset. "I found it."

"Ditto," came another friendly voice. Remus calmly looked up as a man with shaggy brown hair, covering one eye, walked up. He didn't carry a weapon, and although his armor was the same basic set that most of the squad owned, his was a lot lighter.

"Karis!" Remus greeted happily. "You're late!"

"Sorry," Karis said sarcastically. "Some of us actually need to take out bad guys one at a time."

"Eh, doesn't matter," Remus decided.

"Remus, Karis," the call from Kaiten came over the radio. "I'm in position. Just let me know when."

"We're ready here," Karis relayed. "Preparing to breach."

"Are you gonna use the door?" Remus asked, standing back in preparation of the imminent blast.

Karis gave him a sidelong glance. "Do I ever?" He pressed his hands against the wall three feet to the right of the doors. His hands started to glow and the wall turned a dark purple around where he touched. It soon spread out along the wall until it was big enough for him to walk through.

"You ready?" Karis asked, but without waiting for a response, he let loose his power. The wall exploded inwards, giving them plenty of room to rush into the room and complete their mission.

As soon as the smoke cleared, Remus was the first one inside. The room was a command center that had been built inside a private study. Several computers lined the walls alongside bookshelves, with one large holographic projector in the middle of the room. The enormous window in the back gave a spectacular view of the mountain range behind the fortress.

The room was a hodgepodge of scientific advancement and cultured luxury. It was almost enough to hide the base commander behind the large desk in the back of the room.

"Commander Torsin!" Remus called to the man sitting in the chair behind the desk. "Your base is in our way. Move it."

"I thought this day would come soon," Torsin said. He rose, revealing his blanched hair and missing eye, hidden underneath a scar. "You're with the Spectral Knights, yes? I figured the army out front was a diversion."

"They've probably gotten inside by now," Karis said, cracking his knuckles. "You're screwed."

"Perhaps," Torsin said. "Although, I didn't get this old without being able to plan ahead. Your team has been leading several victories for the past several months. I knew you would get to this point eventually, so I prepared something for you."

Remus and Karis watched as the bookshelves fell forward, landing solidly and revealing themselves as just a ruse. Large sentry guns sprung forth, complete with twin Gatling cannons and more than enough ammo stored within the wall. Empowered with Soul energy, the same energy that powered most airships, they were far more dangerous than a regular gun. The Spectral Knights' eyes widened as they started to spin up.

"Run Karis," Remus said to his partner. A pair of laser pointers automatically aimed at each knight.

They barely had enough time before the guns opened fire. Karis had to reach back into the room to yank Remus out of harm's way just as a spray of bullets poured into the hallway. They hid behind the metal door to avoid being shot. The lasers traced them, even through the door. Thousands of metallic ticks resounded against the door, like a deafening rainfall.

"At least it's more fun this way, right?" Remus yelled over the din.

"For you!" Karis yelled back. He flexed his fingers in front of his face. "How the hell am I supposed to get close to him?"

"Don't think you can hide!" Torsin shouted over an intercom positioned in the hallway. It was the only way Remus and Karis could have ever heard him, and Torsin wasn't about to let them get away without some gloating. "I've prepared something else as well!"

Suddenly, large panels opened up on either side of the hallway. They seemed like empty rooms at first, but Remus and Karis both realized the danger they were in when they saw hundreds of tiny robots shaped like spiders trotting towards them.

"Aracharons!" Remus screamed. His hands lit up in an instant as he spread a fire wall on both sides of the hallway. The small robots walked blindly into the fire and were destroyed, but they traveled in packs of thousands and just kept coming.

Aracharons were small spider bots that, despite their size, spread terror on the battlefield. Small and agile, the little robots were able to climb onto an enemy, usually unseen, and burrow into the skin. After breaking the skin, the aracharons were often deep enough to explode, taking off a limb or even killing the target. Remus had plenty of reason to be extra cautious around them.

"Think you can take out those guns?" Remus asked, starting to break a sweat.

"Not without losing an arm!" Karis replied. "He's gotta be firing five hundred bullets a second! That's too fast even for me!"

"And I'm tied up here!" Remus concluded. "Guess our glorious leader gets to have the last bit of fun after all!"

"Agreed. I'd rather not die in a rat hole like this!" Karis tapped his ear at once, getting his signal out quickly. "LT! We're ready whenever you want to make your entrance!"

The radio cracked for a moment, but Kaiten's voice seemed to clear the air at once. "I'm on my way," he said in all confidence. "Good work boys. Just sit tight."

Commander Torsin stood at his desk, enjoying the spark show the bullets rattling against the door were giving him. He laughed in utter superiority over not one, but two Spectral Knights! The aracharons would soon overwhelm them, and he would earn a medal for his efforts.

"You were fools to take on this base!" Torsin gloated. "I've watched over countless battles, keeping it safe! Brummia will never fall and I will never grant you passage through the mountains! Ahahaha!"

If Torsin hadn't been so full of himself, perhaps he would have seen the figure swinging in through the window behind him.

Lieutenant Kaiten Saeis crashed through the glass, shattering the entire display. Commander Torsin, turned at the sound, but was knocked onto his back on his desk. Kaiten, dual wielding his twin blades, the Masamune, sent an arc at each Gatling cannon. The purple magic blew the guns up, ending the rattling noise against the door. The guns split in half and fell harmlessly to the floor. Remus and Karis quickly jumped in the hole in the wall, avoiding the remaining aracharons. The remaining section of wall against the floor made it impossible for the small robots to follow.

"Commander Torsin," Kaiten began, one katana pressed against Torsin's heart. "Your base has killed hundreds of my comrades and continued this war far longer than it had to. That ends today."

"You think you can kill me?" Torsin shouted. "I've commanded this army for thirty years! I've held command over this fortress for twenty! I alone can—"

Kaiten, tired of the old man's ramblings, pierced Torsin's heart. "Shut up," he said simply. Torsin died with a gurgle and a final gasp.

"Finally," Karis sighed. "I admit, I had a bit of a jump there in the end."

"Soul cannons will do that to ya," Kaiten said, hopping off the desk. He pressed a button underneath, stemming the flow of aracharons in the hallway. "Remus, finish up the remaining robots, would you?"

"You got it Lieutenant," Remus said. He glanced out the hole in the wall at the clattering machines and started to set them on fire one by one. Each gave a satisfying pop upon detonation.

"Aitris?" Kaiten reported over the radio. "How's your squad?"

"All present," Aitris replied. "Captain Koltras and his men have already breached the wall. We're rounding up the remaining Brummians now."

"Good work," Kaiten congratulated. "Meet up with us in the courtyard. Borrik, Makareth, meet me in the Command Center. I want to go over that Intel so we can send it directly to the General."

"Okie dokie," Borrik agreed.

"You got it," Makareth replied.

"All clear out here," Remus reported after a moment. "No more bug bombs."

"Good," Karis shuttered. "I can't stand those things."

Remus laughed. "Only because you're the only one on the whole team who can't fight them."

"What was that?" Karis snapped as his hands started to glow.

"Knock it off, both of you," Kaiten ordered. "I need to report to the general."

Kaiten stood at the now broken window, staring out at the mountain pass they would no doubt be crossing in a matter of days. A soft breeze caressed his hardened exterior, but he took no notice of it or the chill that ran along his skin. Instead, he simply radioed HQ to report the victory.

"This is Lieutenant Saeis, calling command."

A few seconds passed of silence as the transmission was patched through. The general came through, blasé as always. "Yes Lieutenant? What's your situation?"

"Mission complete sir," Kaiten reported. "Allumant Fortress has been taken. Captain Koltras is establishing a front here and we'll be ready to move out in a matter of days."

"The captain will remain behind," the general said. "I need your team on another mission. We're sending an airship to pick you up. You'll return to base for three day's rest and a mission briefing."

Remus and Karis looked at Kaiten for hopes of good news. Kaiten just shook his head, informing them that no, they didn't get a real break—yet again. Both subordinates blew up a section of wall in response.

"Understood sir," Kaiten said. "We'll return with the recovered Intel in tow."

"Good. Gather your troops and prepare to depart."

"Yes General Saiko. Over and out."

XXXXXXXX

General Saiko sat back in his office chair and removed the headset. The mission statement before him was a grim one, and not one that he wanted to send his best Special Forces team in on, but it was vital. It was that damned council, always thinking blindly, not caring who they had to throw away to meet its ends.

In the back of his mind, Saiko knew he would regret sending the Spectral Knights into Ckelen-te-Clu.

XXXXXXXX

And there we go. We finally get to see something of Terra before its collapse (at least through my crazy interpretation XD). Now, I know it doesn't make much sense to still be using swords and whatnot in the year 41301, but there are reasons behind that which I'll try to get into next chapter. It turns out that my original idea didn't work as well as my new idea after some research. This should clear a lot more things up once, as well as some story aspects that weren't really translated well in the game.

Also, I hope I didn't throw too much info at you guys at once. Kaiten had nine people under his command since I wanted to explore different aspects of purple magic. Karis, Remus, Zareth and eventually Aitris will be prime examples of that, simply combining their powers with other magics. Oh, and Karis is _not_ based off of Gambit from the X-Men, but I can see how one might think that. :P

And just to keep things easier for you, here are my notes to help categorize the Spectral Knights for you.

-Aitris Naze (incredible swordsman with improved Chi abilities. Sergeant)

-Makareth Tirrell (Chi blasts and swordsman)

-Zareth Melth(Summoner)

-Ank Fultide (Throwing knives)

-Remus Tilfan (Ultra control over magic)

-Cyl Brensit (Extreme defense and greatsword)

-Karis Wark (Hand to hand/Energy in hands and fingers)

-Aiex Torren (War hammer)

-Borrik Helsa (Time magic and cleaver)

Hope that makes things easier. I'll try using them a little more in the next chapter, but they don't have much time left anyway, as you can tell by this chapter's ending. :P

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed everything. Reviews mean I spend more time on the chapters instead of scribbling them all out at once at the end of the month. XD


	10. Blood and Nightmares, Part 2

Disclaimer- I don't own any o the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: So, I had an idea…

My novel has been written for 2 months by now and I've been busy with it, either editing it or trying to get a literary agent. However, unlike Shattered Mind, it doesn't have a lot of exposure, so I don't know how well it'll be taken. With that in mind, I need two people to volunteer for me.

Those two people will get to see the first ten chapters of my novel, in exchange for reviewing and criticizing it where needed.

Also, you'll have my thanks and if at all possible, I'll try to autograph your book when it comes out. :D

Let me know if you're interested either in a review or a PM. Thanks in advance guys. :D

Chapter 10- Blood and Nightmares, Part 2

XXXXXXXX

"MOVE!"

Our progress through Oeilvert was slow. Monsters and traps plagued our every step, and now we were even fighting against the decorating. Gargoyles called 'Epitaphs' crawled out of the walls one at a time. We tried running down the hallway towards a large library, but the Epitaphs blocked our way.

And their ability didn't make anything any easier.

The gargoyles all carried gravestones in front of themselves, which could open.

"Look out!" Freya called out. "It's copying us again!"

The last remaining Epitaph shot a laser out of its eyes and zeroed in on Amarant. The beams themselves were harmless, but the large bandit was frozen while the Epitaph copied him. When he finally did move again, the Epitaph's gravestone split in half down the middle. There was a bright flash, then the gravestone closed again.

A second Amarant stood across the hall from us.

"Not again!" Zidane shouted.

"I'M THE REAL AMARANT!" the copy shouted, clearly in some sort of denial.

"I'll take him on," Freya volunteered.

Earlier, we had discovered that fighting like copies was a mistake. They knew our fighting styles exactly and knew every counter to use. Amarant nearly got his hand cut off and I took a short sword to the gut. Potions were most certainly our friends.

The Copy Amarant took a quick slash at Freya with his clawed gauntlet, smashing into the ground. Freya jumped high, dodging and slashing at his chest all in one motion. Copy Amarant touched the deep wound gingerly with his hand before he looked up, just in time to see Freya come down with a mortal strike.

Seconds later, his head his the ground. Seconds after that, so did his body.

"There, easy," Freya said, picking herself up. "It's a good thing you have no fighting style Amarant."

"Brute strength works just fine," Amarant said, his masculinity threatened. He dipped into a low fighting stance. "How about I show you?"

"Guys, enough!" Zidane shouted over them. "Lets just get to the end of the hallway before any more of those things show up!"

"Let's get this over with," I said. "We should get out of here before we trigger some ancient curse or something."

I could see a round room filled with stone faces carved into the walls, each as big as I was tall. It was the information center of Oeilvert. Each face contained a different set of information. The ones that survived the years and all the weathering, at least.

As intriguing as our upcoming discovery was, I had other things on my mind. It had been half and hour since Kaiten had translated that text and started talking about his past. I hadn't been able to get through to him at all.

I just hoped he was alright…

XXXXXXXX

"Another mission down!" Remus celebrated, raising a glass and encouraging his teammates to as well. Karis clanked his glass against Remus', as did Cyl, Ank, Aiex and Borrik. Zareth just sat in a table away from the others at the bar, but he raised a glass all the same.

The bar was empty, save for the Spectral Knights. They had made a special military order giving themselves a private party and forcing everyone else out. The attention they usually got from bar hoppers was often more creepy or annoying than not. After Allumant Fortress fell, they were in dire need of a break.

"So where are the uppity ups?" Remus asked. "They're missing the party!"

"Probably retrieving new missions specs," Cyl answered, taking a drink. He rested his helmet on the bar, but kept the rest of his armor on, making his head look miniscule in comparison.

"Those jackasses in the brass never like to give us a break, do they?" Ank asked. "Fuckin' miserable lot."

"At least we're damn good at what we do," Aiex pressed. He sat in his stool facing the empty room, leaning back and taking a sip of his alcohol, an Olestan specialty called Vicor. It was the squad's tradition to have a drink of it after every successful mission.

Karis just grinned. "I dunno about you guys, but I really need to get some food."

"Yeah, me too," Borrik agreed, patting his stomach. He had a rounded figure and his squadmates often teased him for his girth. Borrik didn't care though, and just reached for the saluted nuts resting on the bar.

Zareth, the antisocial member of the Spectral Knights, just raised a finger in the air, silently ordering another drink.

Several minutes of bragging and gloating from their last mission ensued, eventually grinding down to one large pissing contest. Karis and Ank were just starting to argue who had a more useful power, just as the front door slammed open. Kaiten and Aitris walked in, carrying a mission dossier, with Makareth in tow.

"Look alive ladies," Kaiten shouted over the din in the bar. His troops, by now more than a little tipsy, stood at attention for a moment, before sitting down anyway, lest they fall over. Kaiten was never much for formalities anyway.

"General Saiko just handed this off to us," Kaiten explained. He set the dossier on a table, using Borrik's enormous gut to block the bartender's view of it. Kaiten didn't flip through the papers inside, but there was a building spec sitting on top.

"They're sending us to Ckelen-te-Clu," Aitris announced solemnly.

The mood immediately went dour. The Spectral Knights set down their drinks and leaned forward to double check the dossier, to see if it were actually true.

"Ckelen-te-Clu?" Remus was the first to speak. "But that's just north of Brummia's capital!"

"We won't be that far in to their country for at least a few more months!" Aiex threw in. "That's WAY behind enemy lines!"

Kaiten nodded in grim understanding. "Command believes that a strike that far in would shake up the Brummian command. It would get them to start making hasty decisions and whatnot."

"That's idiotic!" Ank threw out. "Those dumbasses think that we can get that far in undetected, then somehow manage to take that place on?"

"We've been through worse," Remus said confidently.

"We have?" Borrik asked, tilting his rotund head to the side.

"And that's not all," Aitris added. "They gave us each specific positions and timing to follow closely."

"Seriously?" Karis asked. "But we always just do our own thing. That's how we've always won!"

"That won't be good enough this time," Kaiten said. "Command knows that this far in, we'll have to be careful. More careful that ever before."

Kaiten slide the building schematics out so everyone could see. "These are the building plans we obtained from before the Grand War. With any luck, these haven't changed."

"And why does Command insist we take on something so dangerous?" Cyl asked, standing in the back of the group.

"Ckelen-te-Clu is still producing feats using soul power," Kaiten explained. "Brummia has been developing newer and stronger airships and weaponry. If we knock the labs out, we destroy their new toys. It's why we've been having such a hard time against their forces."

"Won't we be causing a tremendous blow to science by doing this?" Remus asked. "I mean, someday, those nerds might be able to create purple magic users. Black magic is hard enough to implant. We only have our powers because we were lucky enough to be born with it."

Kaiten nodded once. "We will, and I agree that it sucks, but if it means bringing this war to a close, then I'll do it." Kaiten sighed, putting everything back into the dossier and sealing it inside a briefcase. "Now someone pass me a drink. I could go for some Vicor."

Kaiten left the briefcase on the table, out of reach, but where he could see it.

The Spectral Knights had plenty of reason to concern themselves with their upcoming mission.

Ckelen-te-Clu was a fortress and a laboratory all in one. It was a place where many Terrans had developed several techniques harnessing soul power. One of the most celebrated scientists to ever work there was Immar Boleman. He created several theories with the help of his various teams, diving so deep into the concepts of the soul that he had developed three theories, all bearing his name. Now, the labs were headed by a greedy man, challenging Boleman's theories for his own personal glory. The scientists and technicians that worked there hated the new head of the facility.

Hart Innural was not a popular man.

XXXXXXXX

"What is this place?" Zidane asked.

The room at the end of the hall was even creepier than the game ever could have portrayed it. Four rows of heads lined up, easily a hundred of them. However, due to age, or quite possibly a few earthquakes, most of them were way beyond repair. Only a few faces were still in tact.

Much like the Terra Cotta Warriors, each face had its own unique features and appearance. Most of them were now gone, but it still gave me something to look at while we all craned our heads around in investigation.

"What a disturbing room," Freya said.

There must have been a proximity scanner somewhere in the room, because as soon as we got to the middle of the room, a rotund face on the bottom row lit up a bright orange and jutted out of the wall.

"**C!Œ∑ÁØΩ≈√…"**

A strange voice popped into our heads all of a sudden. It seemed the face on the wall was speaking to us telepathically.

"What was that noise?" Freya asked, grabbing her spear.

"Wait!" Zidane halted her with his hand raised. "I think it's saying something!"

"Visitors," the rotund face said again. "Climb upon the stone."

"I could understand it," Amarant said, stunned as the rest of us.

Perhaps the Terrans had developed some technology that could translate their language into any language around. That, or somehow they knew how to speak English to begin with.

I looked down at the large platform just in front of us. There was a rounded green stone on the floor, surrounded by much smaller white stones, which seemed more decorative than functional.

"Maybe it's just speaking directly into our minds," Zidane said.

"You mean like the Soulcage did?" I asked, remembering that fight uncomfortably.

"Perhaps," he shrugged. "Let's just go."

We took a few tentative steps forward onto the stone platform. As soon as all four of us were on board, the white stones lit up and the platform started to rise. I stopped after ten feet and just hovered in place, giving us a much better view of the stone faces.

"Visitors, listen well…" the stone face spoke telepathically. "This is the record of our civilization…"

The first face suddenly receded back into the wall, only to be replaced by another face on the left side of the room. This one was a woman's face with this rings around her eyes. "The seeds' decline was not our fault… All vegetation and… vessels… died out… The decay of our Terra… triggered it all… In order to stop the decay, many methods were considered…"

She receded as well, and a face with thin eyes on the bottom row on the right side of the room. My neck was starting to hurt from all the craning I had to do to watch these things. "Ultimately, the best minds of Terra's civilization gathered… Then, a final resuscitation was attempted on the mother continent… Unfortunately, it ended in failure… It was later discovered to have been the catalyst… Subjects were selected…"

Thin eyes left us and a face with a scar at the top of the room appeared. "After four tremendous sacrifices, eternal prosperity seemed within reach… Flora and fauna were revived, but… is still in stasis. Final results… are still pending…"

Scar retreated and Rotund came before us one last time. "In order that our glorious history not die with us, we were constructed…"

The faces all fell slight at last and the platform fell back to the floor. I double-checked, just to make sure that nothing else would happen, but the program had shut down. Perhaps the only way to start anything up again would be to reenter the room, and even then, that wouldn't help clear anything up.

"What was that?" Freya asked. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"It said that word again," Amarant pointed out. "'Terra'."

"This place is all kinds of weird," I said, throwing in a token response. I had to wonder what I had just seen myself. I always had trouble understanding this part of the game. The clues were too cryptic and I didn't understand all of it. Sure, I knew it detailed the fall of Terra and their plan to merge planets in order to survive, but parts of it still didn't make a lot of sense.

"Let's worry about all that later guys," Zidane said, already heading out the door. "The longer we stay here, the longer Kuja has to kill our friends."

We all agreed silently that saving the others had to be our top priority. Solving the mysteries here would have to wait. We exited single file through the door, but I took one last look back. Kaiten would have been able to clear a lot of this up, but he still wasn't listening to my hails.

I hoped he was alright…

XXXXXXXX

"As much as I like fighting, it would be nice if they gave us an actual break sometime," Aitris complained.

"I can't really picture you going on vacation," Kaiten said. "What did you have in mind? Going to Harridian Bay and sunbathing?"

Both soldiers had left the bar in the wee hours of the morning. Remus and several of the other Spectral Knights had either remained at the bar still drinking, or had passed out trying to. Kaiten and Aitris were a little tipsy, but Kaiten was too serious-minded to get drunk and Aitris was always on guard. They both wandered aimlessly along the streets.

"I'd like to take up hunting," Aitris said, acting like Kaiten never said anything.

"I have the feeling that you wouldn't use pulse rifles like normal people would."

"Of course not," Aitris said, patting his twin blades. The handles were the same length as the blades, acting as a sheath as well. When he wasn't fighting, Aitris pointed the blades at each other and slid them into the other blades' handle. Folded in, both weapons looked like a staff, which Aitris also excelled at using.

"There's no challenge if you hunt that way," Kaiten remarked.

"Yeah, but you're up close and personal. You get to look your kill in the eyes as you rip its still beating heart out."

"One of these days, I really want you to get some therapy."

They rounded a corner, meeting a long stretch of lights that seemed to press into the horizon. Neon signs decorated every spot along the tall buildings, lighting the area into a perma-noon. Even as early as it was, clubs and bars still pounded away at music so loud that that the entire street vibrated.

"Who needs therapy?" Aitris asked, continuing the conversation. "I'm content as I am."

"That doesn't seem very healthy. Pissed off as you are on some missions, I need to worry how well you can fight and coordinate battle."

"We've done pretty fucking good so far, haven't we?" Aitris asked, no longer enjoying the conversation.

"Ever hear of a ticking time bomb?"

"Well SOOOORRY that I couldn't grow up as privileged as you."

Kaiten glared at Aitris out of the corner of his eyes. "I grew up on the streets."

"And I woke up to a beating every morning to an asshole father while crying out to a mother who never helped me because she drank too much."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence as the two walked along. Kaiten finally broke the silence by saying, "You know, you should probably do something to take care of that."

"I did," Aitris said, and began twirling his combined twin blades in his hand. Whether or not that meant he killed his parents in a fit of rage, Kaiten didn't know, nor did he want to.

"Never mind," Kaiten finally said. "I'm hungry. Let's grab something before we head back to the barracks."

"Sure. We could get a greasy fish sandwich out here, or maybe a greasy pile of meat?"

"You really have a knack for visiting other places and meeting new people."

"Not my fault if I'm better than them."

In addition to being bright and noisy, this part of the city also had a high crime rate. Three armed thugs watched Kaiten and Aitris pass by in only their civilian clothes and figured they would make easy marks. They cocked their rifles and headed out. One took an alley to cut the soldiers off while the other two snuck around behind them.

The Spectral Knights kept walking like they had been all along. They knew they were being followed—three years fighting in the Grand War made sure of that—but they knew that anyone who had to lurk in the alleyways wasn't worth their full attention.

When the muggers finally made their presence known, one stepped in front on the sidewalk while the others stood behind the fighters, blocking off their route of escape.

"Those are some nice toys ya got there," the lead mugger taunted. His cohorts laughed along with him. "Maybe we should give ya a hand carrying them."

Kaiten sighed and ran a hand over his face. He had hoped these idiots would get scared off when he saw the weaponry both he and Aitris were carrying, but it only encouraged them. How he hated this breed of lower class moron.

"Aitris, get the two behind us, would you?" Kaiten asked.

"Got it," the sergeant said. He lifted his twin blades so that they rested along his shoulders, like a polearm.

"You sure about that?" one of the muggers asked, aiming his pulse rifle right for Aitris' heart.

Kaiten wasted no time in dispatching the thug in front. He grabbed a katana and slashed deep with an iai strike, cutting through the thug's shirt and nicking several ribs along the way. The thug stared in wonder at how fast Kaiten had moved. It was only after Kaiten sheathed his sword that the thug felt the explosive wave of pain.

He fell onto his back, screaming and dropping his gun as blood spewed out of him. He ran his hands over his body, dragging fabric and pinching flesh together, doing whatever he could to keep himself from dying. It wasn't a fatal blow, but it looked like one, and it would scare the hell out of the thug.

The other thugs watched their buddy bleed, then turned their attention to Aitris, who had been watching their expressions, grinning. Living on the streets, they had seen his smirk on the faces of serial killers. Now their robbery attempt had become a fight for survival.

Both thugs raised their rifles, but it was too late. Aitris brought his twin blades around, still sheathed within each other, and smacked the guns away, aiming them at the wall instead.

By the time the first thug brought his rifle back around, Aitris made his move. He unlocked his blades and slashed into the thug's front hand, all in one fluid motion. He brought the blades down again, severing the nerves in the thug's other arm, forcing him to drop the gun and leaving both arms useless.

The second thug finally got his rifle around to stop the crazed sergeant, but Aitris moved, placing the injured mugger between them both. Using both twin blades, Aitris began slashing and cutting dozens of little marks up and down the first thug's body.

He forced them into each other. The first thug backed into his ally while the second flailed around with his gun, unable to get a straight shot off. He continued to flail until he backed into a wall. Aitris decided he had them where he wanted them, and finished it up.

A quick thrust straight into the first thug's neck cut both his throat and his jugular vein. His last sounds were a wet gurgling gasp for air. The second thug looked on in horror, trying to use his gun to shield himself, but facing down a pair of swords made that impossible.

The last thing the thug registered was a sword piercing his lung and hip. He was lifted above Aitris' head as the sergeant grinned madly. He ended it by powering an Explosion in both swords. The thug's head and legs blasted away as Aitris dropped the bloody sack of meat that was the thug's torso.

Aitris let out a long sigh to calm his excited heart. Covered in blood, he looked like a deranged madman.

"What the hell was that?" Kaiten demanded.

"Just having some fun," Aitris explained calmly. He flicked blood off of both twin blades and sheathed them into each other, strapping the pole onto his side again.

"That was completely excessive and you know it!" Kaiten said.

"I never get to enjoy myself when we're on a mission. I always have to rush to complete the objective or keep my squadmates alive. I can never just toy around."

Kaiten ran his hand along his face.

"Hey, I used up a bit of energy there," Aitris said. "Still feel like getting something to eat?"

"I think I lost my appetite," Kaiten remarked.

"Alright. It's your loss."

"I'm sure," Kaiten muttered. "I'm heading back to the barracks, but when we're back from Ckelen-te-Clu, I'm signing you up to see a psychiatrist."

"Whatever," Aitris rolled his eyes.

Kaiten started walking the other way back to base, but stopped for a moment and walked back. The thug he took out was still trying to hold all his blood in. Kaiten slashed across his throat, allowing for a quicker death. The thug sputtered briefly, then stopped moving and died.

It was a mercy kill, just in case Aitris wasn't done with his "fun".

XXXXXXXX

The Council of Terra was an ancient political group that secretly ran the scenes. People knew that world leaders subscribed to the meetings and participated, but they didn't know how far the powers went within the meetings. Ever since the discovery of the planet's Crystal and planetary immortality, they had spoken strictly of longevity.

The Council was what orchestrated the Grand War. Now, they were convening on what move to make next.

"The war isn't working!" one council member shouted. "Seven years and the Crystal isn't regenerating at all!"

"Perhaps we don't fully understand it yet," said another member. "We've only known about it for two thousand years. Considering what it is, there could still be mysteries behind it."

That statement outraged a third council member. "It's not that hard to understand! It is the physical representation of our planet's soul. We've studied it relentlessly."

"And yet, the planet is dying," came a sad voice. Every turned as General Saiko stood at one end of the room. "Without the planetary fusion, we cannot hope to last."

"But there are no other planets close by that we could hope to use! We ran out of that option when Raigos was absorbed!"

"There is that younger planet that was just discovered," came a suggestion.

"No, it's too young! Its Crystal is stronger than our own. It will repel the fusion!"

"So we wage a war only to try to feed souls into our Crystal and regenerate it?"

"Enough!" Saiko shouted, catching the other council members by surprise. "We will make one final effort in the Grand War. You are all familiar with the Spectral Knights, correct?"

All the members of the council nodded their heads.

"They are the strongest team I have in my army," Saiko continued. "All of them are purple magic users. I have spoken with Hart Innural and he believes that we were wrong to use multiple souls to feed the Crystal. Instead, we should attempt quality over quantity. The Spectral Knights have the strongest souls I have ever seen. We will…" Saiko paused to consider how best to phrase his next thought. "Their sacrifice will save the planet."

Several other council members gasped in shock or disgust.

One stood and slammed his hands on the massive table they all sat at. "Do you mean to tell me you plan to betray your own men?"

"We all must make sacrifices," Saiko explained. "They will attack Ckelen-te-Clu, where Innural is expecting them. If this doesn't work, Brummia and Olesta will concede their differences, stating that the attempted loss of Ckelen-te-Clu is too great. The Grand War will end and we will search for a new way to save Terra."

There was much chattering about Saiko's plan. It was risky, even cruel. Still, if killing ten men would save a planet of billions, then it seemed like an easy choice.

"Very well," one of the senior members said from the front of the room. "All in favor of executing General Saiko's plan?"

Not a single person in the room opposed.

XXXXXXXX

Freya sneezed.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she said, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "It's just all the dust in here."

"How old do you think this place is?" Zidane asked in passing.

"A few hundred years old?" Freya guessed.

"Maybe a thousand?" I guessed. Even though the game had basically explained what had happened to Terra, it didn't go into the specifics. It was one of those interesting plot points that didn't seem to matter too much.

We passed through the main lobby, into another room, still in search of the Gulug Stone. We were on the right path now, but the other's impatience was starting to show. Even I was getting tired from marching all day in this god-forsaken heat. My legs felt like they were going to fall off any time now.

The next room we passed was completely circular, even spherical. There was only a small path we could follow as we follow. The center of the room dipped down a step, like the space had been cleared for a fountain long ago. The only thing inside was a familiar rune; a segmented triangle with a circle inside of it within a segmented triangle with a circle in it, within a segmented triangle with a circle in it. It was confusing to see at first, but made more sense when one stopped looking for patterns in it.

We passed through the room like we had all the others, but another proximity sensor must have seen us. Lights flashed as another hologram lit up the room.

"Another one of these?" Freya asked.

"What's this?" Amarant grunted. "The twentieth one we've seen?"

"Something like that," Zidane said.

Two planets appeared before us. One, a red one, spun slowly with a red moon around it. I recognized it as Terra. The other one was blue, and had a matching moon orbiting it as well. Both planets rotated as Terran text appeared before them both.

_Kaiten? You there?_ I tried asking him again. _Any chance of a translation here?_

Nothing.

It had been an hour since Kaiten said anything to me. Maybe he was pissed off, or maybe something was wrong with him. I should have listened to him and not come here. _No…_ I realized. If I had refused, Kuja would have just killed everyone else.

Still, I should have paid more attention to him. It made me sad that my closest friend on Gaia was possibly hurt.

"Another planet?" Zidane asked. "We've only seen the red one until now."

The planets stood side by side briefly, then the text disappeared. The hologram shifted as the planets began to overlap, until they had merged into one. There were so many clouds on this one that it was hard to tell what color it was besides white. Both moons remained and orbited once before the picture froze. New text remained at the bottom of the new planet.

"I don't get it," Amarant said.

"Neither do I," Zidane said. "Let's keep moving. That stone has to be around here somewhere."

"It can't be far," I said, trying to keep the mood positive. "This place doesn't look too big."

"I hope so," Zidane agreed. "I'd hate to have to dig through any of this."

We started walking to the door on the right side of the room. I knew it was just a spin down a floating platform, then a quick boss fight before we got the Gulug Stone and could head back. At least, I hoped it would be a quick boss fight. I'd have to get a nice rest in before I could really give anything my all right now.

We were stopped in our tracks before we reached the door though. From behind us, another Epitaph dropped down from the walls. The gravestone-wielding gargoyle wasted no time in attacked us, targeting me with one of its scanning lasers.

"It's copying Trevor!" Zidane said. "I'll take him on!"

"I'll get it," Amarant said with a crack of his knuckles. "I'm getting bored."

The laser finished its scan of me and the gravestone spilt in half, revealing my clone. Only, it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't really a clone. It kind of looked like me, but there were some differences.

It had shorter hair.

It had a pair of katanas in each hand.

And it wore blue Terran plate armor.

The copy glared at me hatefully. "I'M THE REAL KAITEN!"

XXXXXXXX

So, my last chapter, though very good, didn't receive a lot of reviews.

You see what happens when I don't get my monthly fix of reviews? You get evil cliffhangers like this. :)

Please leave a mountain of reviews or the cliffies will get worse. :D


	11. Blood and Nightmares, Part 3

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story. I do own Trevor and the Spectral Knights though. :D

Author's notes: Writing the history for the Spectral Knights has been fun and a unique experiment.

I've been able to create Terra as I wanted it to be, and even better, I've created all these new characters which instantly leapt off the page and had people caring about them. I guess all my practice helped out over the years. XD

Well, this is the conclusion to the Blood and Nightmares trilogy. It's long enough that I could easily justify breaking into 2 chapters, but I figured that since you guys have been so awesome with your reviews and whatnot, that I would put extra effort into this chapter. I've been writing over 1000 words a day for the last week (NOT an easy task) just to fill space and get everything ready. Hope you guys love it. XD

Chapter 11- Blood and Nightmares Part 3

XXXXXXXX

"I'M THE REAL KAITEN!" the copy shouted again.

"We know!" Zidane said, still struggling to take the copy down. "We heard you the first dozen times!"

I felt helpless standing by the sidelines while Zidane combated the Terran warrior. They matched blow for blow, often with Zidane barely keeping up. I knew Kaiten's fighting style and I might be able to create an opening, but fighting one's counterparts in this place just lead to serious injuries. I had to stay back so the others wouldn't question me more than they already would.

I was in big trouble. Already, my mind was searching for the next lie I would tell to cover myself.

"This has gone on too long," Freya said, readying her polearm. "I'm gonna end this."

As Zidane kept the clone busy, Freya ran out behind their scuffle. I could tell that the clone was a far cry from the real Kaiten, because Freya was able to sneak up behind him and slash his legs open just below the knees. The real Kaiten would have engaged both of them at once, using one sword to fight each of them if he had to.

As the clone fell, Zidane finished it up by digging around his armor, cutting through his chestplate and slicing the Kaiten copy's neck open. Blood spurted out for a moment before he collapsed and disappeared.

"Awesome, he's dead," Amarant grunted. "Let's get moving."

"Just a sec," Zidane said, winded. "I need to catch my breath."

"We should keep moving," I said. "We don't know what else could be in here."

We needed to get moving so we could run into the boss monster here. The sooner we did, the sooner the others would be distracted and they wouldn't ask me about—

"Hang on," Freya stopped me. "What was that just now?"

"Uh… what was what?" I stalled. I knew what she was going to ask and I still didn't have a good explanation in mind for the Kaiten clone.

"You know what," Freya said. "That gargoyle copied you like it did the rest of us, but it didn't make a copy of you. It was some guy named Kaiten."

"We don't have time for this shit," I said. "Who knows what Kuja could be doing to the others right now! We need to go back!"

"No, she's right," Zidane said. "You're hiding something Trevor, and two minutes won't make a difference."

The three of them cornered me, cutting off all hope of escape. I felt like a mouse surrounded by three large, hungry cats.

"Guys, can we NOT do this?" I asked. "I have no idea what's going on."

"Normally, I wouldn't care," Zidane said. "But you're holding something back from us. Remember the 'two souls' thing from when we fought that mist monster?"

"Two souls?" Freya asked.

"I didn't tell you?" Zidane asked. "When we fought the monster that made mist, it grabbed Trevor and said he had two souls. None of us knew what it was talking about."

"Oh really?" Freya asked, crossing her arms.

Great. Like things could get any worse.

_Kaiten, I could use some help here!_

Like before, my shouts to the voice in my head were met with an unsettling silence. Whatever Kaiten was doing, I didn't hear a response.

_KAITEN!_

"So what is this?" Zidane asked, stepping closer. "What are you hiding?"

"What, you don't trust me?" I stalled.

"I can't comfortably fight alongside someone if they hold important secrets from me," Freya said. "Don't make me lose that trust Trevor."

My pulse raced and I started to panic. Ideas swam through my head all at once, each competing fro my attention. What should I tell them? _Malfunctioning gargoyle?_ No, they wouldn't believe that. _Long lost brother?_ Not enough truth. _Evil twin?_ Too much truth. _There was always the _actual_ truth…_ which would cause more questions than answers, as well as continuity errors. The rest of them didn't even know about Terra yet, much less Earth.

"Trevor!" Zidane shouted. "Come on! What's wrong with you?"

"I… it's just…" It was at that exact moment that I had an epiphany. If I played my cards just right and carried the lie far enough, then the others wouldn't take this any further.

"I don't… I don't exactly like talking about it," I said, nervous that someone would catch me in my lie.

"Why not?" Zidane asked, still very suspicious.

"It's just embarrassing," I said, doing my best to blush. "When I was younger, I lived in the barracks with my father, Captain William Delores. I used to dress up like a soldier and pretend I was this hero named Kaiten Saeis. My father let me have this blue ceremonial armor and a pair of decorative swords. I was thinking about it when the gargoyle attacked me. Maybe it read my mind and copied the image."

I looked at the others to gauge how they were reacting to the story. Amarant's expression was unchanged, but that wasn't news. Zidane's eyebrow rose and Freya scrunched her face. My heart raced again as I started glancing about for a way to run.

"I dunno," Zidane said. "Is that really it? It doesn't sound right."

My mind snapped. If a lie wouldn't work, then misdirection would have to.

"Look, this place clearly isn't normal," I said. "What about you? You can read the scribblings around here! And what the hell is this 'Mother Terra' thing?"

"How would I know?" Zidane said, getting defensive. "Like I said, it was like the words were just popping into my head. And we all saw that room with the faces."

"Let's just agree that this is a weird place and that we should leave as soon as possible."

"Yeah, sure," Zidane said. He seemed unsure of himself, but waved a hand our way anyway. "Let's just get through this. I don't want to spend any more time here than we have to."

He started walking into the next room and the rest of us followed. As we began walking again, I looked at Amarant and Freya. Amarant didn't even seem cognizant of the conversation we just had. Freya though, seemed suspicious. She stared at me out of the corner of her eye, until we reached the platform.

I knew she didn't believe my story.

"**You can't trust her.**"

I nearly jumped at the new voice. At first, I looked around, thinking that Soulcage had somehow survived and come back to haunt me. After a moment though, I realized that the voice was coming from my head. It was just like the first time Kaiten talked to me.

"**You can't trust any of them**," the dark voice said again. "**They know too much and they don't trust you.**"

_Who are you?_ I demanded. "_How are you talking to me? Did you get injected into my head too?_"

"**I'm here to help you**," the voice said calmly. "**The others would never understand about Earth, or video games. Their existence is a lie, but yours is truth!**"

_But wha… how do you—_

"**Let me help you Trevor. They already don't trust you. You can see it in their eyes. They talk about you when you're not around. You know they don't like you.**"

_What are you talking about?_ I started to question, but a quick glance at Freya's accusing stare reminded of what she was thinking.

_Oh, right. But how can I trust you? Who, or what are you?_

"**My name is Damien. I'm here to help you.**"

_Damien?_

I was met with only silence. Whoever—or whatever—Damien was, he was gone for now.

_Great,_ I thought. _Now I have two of them up there._

XXXXXXXX

"All members sound off."

"One ready."

"Two ready."

"Three ready."

The members of the Spectral Knights counted off, one by one. They were understandably nervous. After walking for two weeks through treacherous mountain passes and sneaking too far into Brummian territory, they were hundreds of miles from the front line, cut off from supplies, friends, and even radio contact with command.

For this mission to work, they had to isolate themselves completely from their homeland and keep their enemies all around them. Even they, the so-called Monsters of Olesta, were tense in these surroundings. Now that they were ready to carry out their mission, they approached Ckelen-te-Clu's compound, entering through strategic points.

Ckelen-te-Clu itself was a castle, complete with perimeter walls and high towers. Hart Innural was somewhere inside the central keep, but beyond that, they didn't know what this building housed. They each had their own objective to cover and squads to follow.

"Alright, everyone's in position," Kaiten said. "I don't need to tell you guys twice to be careful. Stick with your groups and carry out the mission. This will be Brummia's deathblow."

"Yeah, about that," Remus called out. "Doesn't this seem a little unbalanced? I mean, Cyl, Borrik and Aiex are in one team, but Ank and Karis are with me. Shouldn't we split things up a little?"

"These orders came from General Saiko himself," Kaiten said. "He would only tell us to divide like this if it would work out best for us."

"Alright," Remus said cautiously. "If you say so LT."

"For the record, I don't like this either," Aiex called out over the radios.

"Enough complaining," Kaiten ordered. "We have our objectives. I'll see you guys when Aitris, Makareth and I find Innural."

"Fine, copy."

A round of grumbles came out from the radios. Zareth heard everything from a dark corner in the courtyard. He pulled his staff out, ready to begin summoning his next beast. All he had to do was keep a distraction outside for the facility's security force. Multiple summons while keeping himself hidden were just another part of the job.

"We'll go when Zareth signals us," Kaiten said. "Zareth, you ready?"

Zareth took a step out from the shadows, keeping himself against a wall. "Ready," he said slowly.

Zareth began chanting, holding his staff out as a summoning circle appeared underneath him. It glowed slightly in the twilight, but he was in an isolated section of Ckelen-te-Clu. He would attack the other side of the base and the security force would never find him.

"Adremmelech!" Zareth finished.

There was a brief flash, followed by sparks shooting out of the ground where Adremmelech appeared. He was a Capricorn, with the body of a man and a head of a goat. The torn wings on his back, which seemed too small, complimented his twisted visage and had most of the flesh carved from them. Somehow though, he was able to use it to keep himself in the air.

"The tower," Zareth ordered, giving the goat demon its first target.

Zareth reached to his earpiece to signal the others. "Go," was all he muttered.

"You heard him!" Kaiten called. "Move out!"

"Gee, Zareth sure is chatty today," Remus teased.

Zareth ignored both of them, concentrating only on keeping himself hidden while watching Adremmelech attack the base. He flew high into the air, spun once, then charged up an attack. Lightning poured from his mouth like he was drooling it. The more he collected, the brighter it grew. Finally, when it seemed it couldn't get any brighter, he launched the lightning, striking against a large tower. The Intel they had said it was just a research tower, but the assault was more than enough to get the guards' attention.

Zareth glanced to the side, hoping his teammates were alright. He didn't talk much, but they were the closest things he had to friends. Growing up, he was constantly mocked for his dark attitude and his preference for ancient scrolls. In the Spectral Knights, he found a group of people who would not only lay their lives down for him, but actually expected him to help them as well. That feeling of importance was vital to Zareth.

They were all very deep in hostile territory. Zareth stepped out of the shadows, swearing that he would keep all the guards out of the building, and he would crush any resistance who tried to enter Ckelen-te-Clu. It was the least he could do for his friends.

It was too bad he never saw the sniper on the neighboring building.

Innural had expected them to come today and had more than a few surprised ready for the Spectral Knights. And one of them was looking through a scope, aiming right for Zareth's heart.

With a squeeze of the trigger, a silent shot cut through the air. It hit its mark, striking Zareth right in the lung and knocking him onto his back. He didn't even know what had hit him at first. It was like the air solidified just to punch him. However, when he saw the glint of the sniper's scope reflect off the moonlight, Zareth knew he was in trouble.

He pointed to the sniper, using his psychic connection to Adremmelech to signal the next target. With another mouthful of lightning, the goat demon made short work of the sniper, blowing up the rooftop he was hiding on and the rest of the building.

Zareth was hurt. The sniper round cleared straight through him, leaving him with a gaping wound in his chest. He had to signal the others… _No…_ Zareth reasoned. They were too far away and he would only distract them from the mission… maybe even get some of them killed.

He had to radio the others… so he could say goodbye…

Zareth laid on his back as his arm slowly worked up his body, to reach the earpiece. But even as he did, three more snipers gazed at him through their scopes. Before Zareth's hand made it even halfway to his headset, three more shots rang out, each hitting their mark… One in the arm… one in the stomach… and one through the heart…

As Zareth's lifeforce disappeared, so did Adremmelech, until there was nothing left of either of them.

XXXXXXXX

"Sir, we've taken down their summoner, Zareth Melth."

"Excellent," Hart Innural said to his guard reporting in. "Make sure to extract his soul quickly. We need to contain it before it leaves the body."

"Already underway sir," the guard saluted.

Innural sat back in his chair deep within Ckelen-te-Clu. Thanks to his "dear friend" General Saiko, he knew every detail of the Spectral Knights' plan. There was nothing they could do to stop him or escape. It was just a matter of time before he possessed the ten most powerful souls on the planet.

He flipped through the monitor channels until he found one of the squads running through the hallway.

"Which team is this?" he asked another guard.

The guard flipped through the dossier General Saiko had sent over. "That would be… Remus Tilfan, Karis Wark, and Ank Fultide, sir."

"Good, they're the next ones to fall into my traps."

Innural pressed a series of buttons on the console before him and let the traps take care of the rest.

XXXXXXXX

The green platform we rode on looked just like the one in the stone face room. It glowed as we rode it down in an elongated spiral deep under the earth. Only a few stones lit up the under regions of Oeilvert. There was a large room underneath, decorated wildly with colorful stones on the walls and floors like a mosaic.

Most notable were the triangle tablets we had been seeing all over the ruins. There was one large triangle at the far end of the room. It sat upright with some decorative stones beside it, set up like an altar.

I knew that inside was the Gulug Stone Kuja needed.

"What an empty room," Freya said, craning her head to look around. The corners were so dark that we couldn't be sure where they were exactly. It looked so vast that I wasn't sure if it wasn't an illusion. "Why would this room be so open? What was it used for?"

"Who cares?" Amarant said. "Is this where the stone is?"

"Let's try that thing," I said, pointing to the altar.

Zidane walked up to the altar. As he approached it, it lowered violently, jerking quickly after decades of uselessness. Zidane jumped back at first, but when a small panel opened up inside the altar, revealing a smaller triangle stone, he approached it again.

"I guess this is the thing Kuja was harping about," he said. He grabbed the stone and stuffed it into his pack. "Time to head back guys."

Zidane hopped down from the altar, but barely made it three steps before the whole room started to shake. It forced us to our knees as we looked around for any signs of danger.

"What is this?" Freya asked.

"Maybe the stone was trapped!" I shouted. That was just what we needed. Maybe the boulder from Indiana Jones could come out and chase us just to complete the image.

"Something's coming!" Zidane yelled. He ran to our side just as the far wall, clouded in the darkness, burst open. Dust rolled in, as did several large chunks of wall. They bounced a few times, echoing in the open room, but as I listened to them crash, I heard something new. A whirling sound, like several large helicopter rotors spinning at once.

In moments, we all heard it. The sound filled the room, as did the sound of steam and ancient creaking metal. As the sounds got closer, the defense system of Oeilvert came into view.

It was an airship of sorts. It was painted black, gunmetal and gold, with a few streaks of red on the side. It had the body of a boat, but with three massive propellers—two in the front, and one massive rotor where the main mast belonged. One the bow was an insanely angry looking dragon's head, mostly as decoration. Underneath the head was a sword, hilt and all, measuring about two-thirds of the length of the thing's body.

The entire body turned to face us, making Ark, the Lost Eidolon, look even more menacing.

I stared up in a mixture of wonder and horror. "This… is gonna suck…"

XXXXXXXX

"All I'm saying is, it's weird."

"Remus, enough," Ank complained. "Yes, the bosses have never sent us on a mission like this, but the LT says it's alright, and I'm gonna trust him."

"But they could be lying to him too!" Remus argued. He tapped his staff against the ground as they walked.

Ank sighed, juggling a lone throwing knife in one hand. "Always with the absurd theories."

The dark tunnels of Ckelen-te-Clu accommodated the Spectral Knights well. The closed quarters gave Remus plenty of walls to bounce his magic off of, or contain his powers. The short halls let Karis and Ank sprint to their targets or in Ank's case, just hit them from afar without much threat of engagement. Zareth had hit the power terminal in part of his initial strike, shutting down all non-essential power. The halls glowed a deep red as the emergency lights came on to keep occupants from crashing into things.

It had been an easy assignment so far.

"It's not that crazy if you think about it," Remus said. "You know how the other soldiers look at us."

"And that leads to some paranoid worry with no proof behind it," Ank was quick to point out.

With Ank and Remus arguing, Karis had plenty of time to think for himself. Their mission was to find and destroy a new weapon being developed, code named, "Neutron Star". Intel reported that it had the ability to kill everyone within a five-mile radius while leaving all vehicles and buildings untouched. Such a weapon would allow the Brummians to overtake all Olestan advances made in the last year and retake their territory in a matter of days.

It should have been an easy objective, but something bothered Karis.

"Hey, guys?" he asked.

But Ank just kept pushing the argument. "This is just like your idea that Aitris was putting spiders in your bed!"

"Aitris WAS putting spiders in my bed!"

"Guys?"

"You said he was trying to kill you! He was just trying to toughen you up."

"No, I said he _could_ have killed me and that he probably didn't care either way."

"GUYS!"

"What?" both Remus and Ank shouted at him.

"Don't you think it's been a while since we heard Zareth blow something up?"

All three of them stopped in the middle of the hallway and listened. All of Zareth's summons were big and caused widespread destruction. The only reason he would stop destroying things would be because either his target was obliterated or there were no more enemies around. Since the Brummian army would arrive any second to help protect Ckelen-te-Clu, there was no shortage of targets.

"You're right," Remus agreed. "It is odd."

"Maybe the Brummians haven't sent in their army yet," Ank suggested.

"I'm calling it in," Karis said. He pressed his earpiece and waited a moment. "Zareth, you there? I don't hear anything blowing up."

There was a moment of static, then silence. The three Spectral Knights traded glances, worried that maybe something had happened to him. Zareth insisted on fighting alone, sure that he would be able to stay hidden in the shadows. Now that confidence seemed like too big of a vulnerability.

"Something's wrong," Remus said, starting to worry.

"Well, hey, you know how he is," Ank said, nervously trying to come up with an alternate explanation. "He barely speaks. Maybe he's standing there with his radio on."

"Lieutenant?" Karis continued. "I can't seem to raise Zareth. Request permission to backtrack and locate him."

To his horror, Karis was only met with more static.

"What is this?" Ank asked. "They can't be gone too."

"Lieutenant Kaiten was with Aitris and Makareth," Remus pointed out. "They wouldn't be taken out by anything short of half the building blowing up, and since I haven't heard anything like that, I'm sure they're still alive."

Remus touched his hand to his ear, checking his radio as well. After a moment, he stopped and came to a grim conclusion. "They must have activated a jammer. We're out of contact with the rest of them."

"Well, we should have seen that coming," Ank pointed out. "Let's just finish this so we can regroup faster."

"Alright," Remus said. "How much farther to the weapon we need to blow up?"

"Well, if our Intel could be right about one thing, it's probably down that hall over there," Ank answered, pointing to a T-junction up ahead. The lights seemed to glow in that direction, as if they were guiding the three.

"Let's get this over with," Karis said, taking a few steps forward. "I don't want to leave Zareth hanging if he needs help."

"You and me both," Remus said, walking forth as well.

The three of them only made it to the three-way intersection though, before a cackling laugh over an intercom system stopped them in their tracks. A section of wall slid open opposite the intersecting hallway, revealing a screen that hummed to life.

Hart Innural appeared before them, looking down at them from the monitor.

"And so the mighty Spectral Knights come to bother my place of business," Innural taunted. "How wonderful that you have no idea how much trouble you're in."

"This looks like a live feed," Ank said, talking as if Innural wasn't even there.

"Guess that means Kaiten hasn't reached him yet," Remus added. "Won't be long though."

"To hell with you three," Innural said distastefully. He detested anyone who didn't admire his brilliance, for he was indeed a genius.

"Hey, can you knock it off?" Remus said. "We're trying to have a conversation here."

"I can see you're not interested," Innural said. "Perhaps this will change your mind."

The image on screen flashed, changing to a camera monitoring the outside of the compound. Ank, Remus and Karis all watched curiously at first, but soon watched in horror and disbelief.

On screen, Innural's guards were tossing Zareth's corpse into a transport truck.

The angered Spectral Knights watched as the guards laughed, kicking at the summoner's body, ripping his hat off and tossing it around like a Frisbee. All three viewers felt their blood boil. Learning that one of their own was dead was bad enough, but to see him desecrated was unspeakable. Karis' hands glowed with raw power and Remus' staff trailed fire. Ank was the first to react though, grabbing a throwing knife and lancing the screen. The stored energy released and shattered the monitor, kicking it out from the wall.

"Miserable bastard!" Ank yelled.

However, they could still hear Innural laughing at their misfortune. It echoed in their head, but they had no time to plot revenge. With the screen gone, a new enemy poured from the walls like water.

Aracharons.

The exploding robots crawled like the insects they were designed as, chasing after their new prey. Remus reacted quickly by soaking flames into the newly created hole in the wall. Thousands of tiny pops went off as the aracharons exploded, but it didn't slow their advance at all. As soon as Remus tried to catch his breath, the spider-bots regrouped, forcing the Spectral Knights to retreat.

"Quick, down this hallway!" Ank shouted, taking the lead down the intersecting hallway. Not a second later, ceiling panels collapsed and more aracharons pressed forward. They covered the floor, casting it in shining silver. Impressive as the display was, just one was enough to kill, and with the modifications Innural's team put on them, they were right behind the retreating invaders.

"Go faster!" Karis yelled.

"How could they design an entire hallway like this without any rooms or other halls?" Remus asked while they ran.

"It's a trap!" Ank yelled back. "They must have set this up!"

"We need another way out!" Karis shouted. "Cover me!"

All three of them stopped running. Remus kept a firewall between them and the aracharons while Ank took pot shots, taking out dozens of robots for every throwing knife. However, for every robot they destroyed, there were literally hundreds left to replace them.

Karis went to work quickly. He pressed his hands against the nearest wall and spread his energy into it. They needed to hop into another room where the aracharons couldn't follow, just like in Allumant Fortress. He channeled the energy through the brick and mortar until he had gathered enough and was ready to blow a hole wide open.

"Karis!" Remus shouted. "Any time now! I can't keep this up!"

"Ready!" Karis said. "Watch for shrapnel!"

Karis released the door and let the energy set itself off. After a moment, he covered his head and an explosion blasted all around him. Karis glanced up at their salvation, ready to be done with these damned robots.

But there was no other room. All he had done was tear out a chunk out of the wall. This would not save them.

"What the hell is this?" Karis shouted, dumbfounded that the plan had failed.

"Fall back!" Ank called out. "I'm almost out of knives!"

"I need a breather!" Remus said. The firewall collapsed and he treated. "Come on Karis!"

The aracharons pressed forward, still numbering in the tens of thousands. They swarmed the hallway, overtaking everything until it was impossible to see through them. However, if the rest of the hall was like this, then there was no telling if they would be able to escape. They could even be running towards a dead end. Karis already lost Zareth.

He would not lose Remus.

"Karis!" Remus called. "Come on! Get moving!"

"You guys go!" Karis called back. He powered himself up, setting a deep purple glow all over his body. "Someone has to keep you two safe."

"Karis, what are you doing?"

Karis knelt down and pressed both hands in the hall's corners, keeping his feet spaced evenly apart. The aracharons came close enough and hopped onto Karis' skin.

"Karis!"

Karis gave Remus a slight glance back. "Tell Kaiten I'm sorry. And kick this Innural guy's ass for me."

"NO! KARIS!"

Karis suppressed the need to scream in pain as the robots began digging into his skin…

Suddenly, the whole hallway shook, overcome by one final explosion. As Karis released all the energy in his body, he blew open a hole in the floor. The hall might not have had rooms, but there was an entire floor below for the robots to fall into. The aracharons that were immediately around him exploded with him, destroying his body in the process…

"KARIS! YOU CAN'T DIE!" Remus cried out. He jumped out to reach for his comrade.

"Remus, STOP!" Ank shouted. "You can't do anything!"

Ank held onto Remus desperately, trying to keep him away from the blast zone. The aracharons poured into the hole like a waterfall. Although they should have been relieved, both Remus and Ank could only stare at the bottom of the hole as the robots dispersed.

…All that was left of Karis was a gory pile of meat.

Remus fell to his knees as he looked at his best friend's pitiful state. After all the years of backing each other up and keeping each other alive, this is how Karis died. Sacrificing himself because Remus couldn't outrun a swarm of micro-bots. He felt miserable.

"Remus?" Ank nudged gently after a moment. Remus was still in shock and didn't react at first.

"Remus!"

"Huh- what?" Remus looked back at Ank in confusion.

"C'mon," Ank finally said. "We need to continue on mission."

"Oh, yeah… right," Remus finally said. "Let's go."

Remus stood, slowly, giving Karis one last look. They still had a chance to complete their objectives and get away, but as far as Remus was concerned, this mission was a complete disaster.

How could things get any worse?

"Hey, Remus?" Ank asked. "Do you hear an alarm?"

XXXXXXXX

The buzzing alarm blared while red strobe lights flickered. It made running down the hallway much harder than it already was. A terrible nerve agent flooded the hallways, coming out of the vents and making passage impossible.

Cyl, Borrik and Aiex ran as quickly as they could, but the gas behind them was deadly. One touch of the organophosphates and they would be paralyzed, subject to death when their lungs stopped working.

"This is bad!" Aiex shouted. "We have to hide somewhere!"

"Door!" Borrik said. "We'll hide there!"

Borrik was the first to reach the room. He threw the door open and fell in. Aiex ducked in next and grabbed Cyl by the hand, carefully pulling him inside as well. Cyl had to bow as he entered as his massive armor barely fit in the doorway. As soon as he was through, Aiex jumped against the metallic door, sealing it behind them.

"That was close," Borrik panted.

The room itself was empty. A rubber seal on the bottom of the door would keep the gas out, preventing a horrid death. The only detail of the room that stood out was a section of wall that jutted out, almost like there had been a hearth there that was now covered by smooth plaster.

All three Spectral Knights sat down to catch their breath. They had triggered the trap releasing the gas on the other side of the complex. After running for several minutes, it had finally stopped flowing, but still filled the halls.

"This is insane!" Aiex complained. "We were supposed to raise a little hell and free some POWs! This mission is all kinds of screwed up!"

" I don't understand," Cyl said. "It is as if this mission goes wrong at all the worst times. We've seen no signs of POWs, countless traps, our radios are out, and I haven't heard one thing blow up from Zareth for twenty minutes!"

"I'll try the radio again," Borrik said, pressing his earpiece. "Kaiten? Are you there?" He was only met with a few seconds of static. "Kaiten? Aitris? Remus? Is ANYONE there?"

"Give it up Bor," Aiex said. "For all we know, we're the only ones left."

"No!" Cyl yelled defiantly, his voice echoing inside his helmet. "We are simply out of contact! I am sure the others are fine."

"I hope so," Borrik said, sadly thinking what it would be like as the last Spectral Knights.

Suddenly, like with Ank, Remus and Karis, a screen opened on the wall on the far side of the room, just over the covered hearth. Hart Innural appeared before them, chuckling to himself in glorified superiority.

"And so I find another group of rats crawling through my home," Innural gloated.

"Another group?" Borrik asked. "Did you attack the others?"

"Calm yourself," Cyl said. "He is attempting to anger us to cloud our judgment."

"You're all so much more polite than the last batch," Innural said. "Still, you will end up the same as them. You were supposed to collapse in the hallway, but as I AM a genius, I planned for this."

There was a soft mechanical whirl, like a drill unscrewing several bolts. The sound came from the hearth as its paneling started to shack. After a few seconds the panel fell, revealing a very large, very threatening bomb. It wasn't a standard explosive, but was instead a shrapnel bomb, covered with large barbs. With an explosive charge the size of a football, the barbs would have no trouble cutting through even Cyl's armor.

"It could have been so much easier for you three," Innural said. "Your deaths would have been painless, but now I have to resort to this. Just remember that you only have yourselves to blame."

Borrik reacted immediately by bringing his cleaver straight through the screen, cutting Innural's image in half. The meaningless destruction felt comforting, but it didn't help them in the slightest when the timer on the bomb lit up.

It read 00:10.

It started counting down at once. 00:09.

"Borrik!" Cyl called out.

"Got it!" Borrik shouted. He held his hands out at the bomb and concentrated his magic.

"Slow!"

00:08.

An orange orb fell over the bomb, slowing time within it. It helped, but it only delayed the inevitable.

"Well, this sucks," Aiex said. "We can get blown up in here or we can suffocate out there. Not to sound like Ank, but this is a shitty way to die."

"Perhaps," Cyl said, pacing the room. "Or perhaps we can find a way out."

"How?" Aiex asked. "Hope that we can somehow fight our way through an entire hall filled with nerve agent? Or that somehow Borrik can slow the explosion so much that it won't effect us when it goes off? Sorry, but that's not how physics work!"

00:07.

"Oh yeah," Aiex continued. "And drilling through the floor won't work since we're on the bottom floor! Isn't life grand?"

Cyl turned his head to gaze at Aiex through the side of his visor. "Brother, you have too little faith."

Cyl brought an armored hand up and threw a solid punch into the adjacent wall. It echoed for a very short moment.

"This wall is hollow," Cyl announced. "It probably has another hallway on the other side."

00:06.

"Are you sure?" Aiex asked. "What if it just leads to another room?"

"Even if it doesn't, will waiting around here doing nothing accomplish anything?"

Aiex could see the logic behind it. It was a creed that Olestan soldiers were constantly told. Better to die fighting than beg for more time.

00:05.

"Guys?" Borrik said hastily. "Whatever you do, do it fast!"

"We need to cut through here," Cyl said. He hoisted his sword up onto his shoulder. "We shall cut through the wall."

With one mighty swing, Cyl took action. His sword, Zweil, pierced the wall and sliced through it like a loaf of bread, but stopped suddenly. There was a two-foot scar in the wall, deep and dark. Cyl pulled his sword out and could see a layer of iron beyond the layer of brick he already cut through.

00:04.

"This… may complicate things," Cyl said. For the first time that either Borrik or Aiex had known him, Cyl was showing fear. He stood back from the wall, unsure if they could actually make it out now.

00:03.

"My control is slipping!" Borrik said. "We're not gonna make it!"

But Aiex wouldn't have any of it. "Like hell we are!" He grabbed his war hammer and swung it around his light frame, twisting back as far as he could. Cyl barely had time to cover his visor before Aiex swung back, crashing it into the brick wall. He released his energy within the blow, destroying an entire chunk out of the bricks. All that was left was a sheet of iron. There was still a scratch left from Zweil's strike.

Aiex twisted back and swung again, crashing into the iron wall. It wasn't enough to break through, but it did bubble, showing its weakness.

00:02.

"One more will do it!" Aiex said. He started to pull back for a third strike.

"Wait!" Cyl said. "Lets make sure it works!"

Cyl struck in Aiex's place. One strike cut through the thinning metal along a diagonal, then an accompanying strike cut in the other way, leaving a large X in the wall and allowing light from the next hallway over to shine in. The light was their salvation.

"Quickly!" Cyl shouted. Aiex twisted back...

00:01.

The war hammer crashed into the wall. This time, it burst open, spilling light through. Aiex's face lit up and he threw his hammer through the hole. He pulled his way through, offering his hand for his teammates to climb through with him.

"Guys, come on!" he encouraged. "You can make it if you hurry!"

Cyl made a motion to climb through, but stopped as soon as he started. He looked at the hole, then Borrik. He stepped back, stabbing his sword into the ground at his side.

"Aiex," he said slowly. "Go."

"No…" Aiex said in disbelief. "No, I'm not gonna leave you guys behind!"

"You have no choice," Cyl scolded. "The hole is too small for me to crawl through, and Borrik can't move without cancelling his magic. There's not enough time for us to get out. You can make it." The heavy arms soldier turned to face his death, rather than let the barbs stab him from behind.

00:00.5."

"Just leave Aiex," Borrik pleaded. "This mission was a complete snafu. You need to get back to Olesta and find out what happened. Maybe someone sold us out. Please, find them and kill them for us."

"Guys…" Aiex said slowly, horrified. "I…"

00:00.

Borrik's control over Time magic had done all it could, but the bomb finally reached the end. The explosive ignited, sending a chain reaction off. The blast wave kicked the barbs out at twenty thousand feet per second. Borrik was killed instantly as a barb pierced his head and his body was impaled on the far wall against the door. Cyl's armor did nothing to protect him, though it did stop most of the barbs from penetrating him completely. As he was knocked back against the hole, Aiex could see his friend's back lined with spikes like a hedgehog pie. Blood seeped down each puncture wound like tears.

There was a sudden silence that for a long time, Aiex didn't think he could break. He didn't know how much time passed as he watched the blood drip down Cyl's back. Finally, as the shock slowly wore off, Aiex stood up, pulling himself with the use of his hammer.

Aiex finally broke the silence in the only way he could. He arced his head back and let out a long, mournful roar. He screamed as loud as he could until his lungs burns and his throat threatened to close on him. He had just watched two of his teammates die, from a squad that just that morning, he would have called invincible.

Aiex's power coursed through him, powering his hammer the second he grabbed it. In his rage, he smashed every piece of brick wall along the hallway as he wandered deeper into the base.

Hart Innural was going to pay dearly.

XXXXXXXX

Ark was far stronger than I would have guessed.

So far, Freya and Amarant were the only ones who had any hope of attacking the airship. Though it was largely stationary, hovering in the cramped room, Ark still had plenty of defenses to throw at us. Freya was able to jump attack every now and then when Ark wasn't attacking, while Amarant could grab rocks and chunks of rubble from the ground to toss up at it.

"This is insane!" Zidane shouted as we ran side by side across the massive room. "How are we supposed to hurt that thing?"

"You could try trancing again!" I suggested. "I can't use my magic in here, so that's probably our best bet!"

"You know we can't fully control when that happens!"

"It was worth a shot!"

There was a loud, mechanical click coming from the back of the room. I had heard it in the game a few times, but I still had to see it to know what was happening. A pair of disks slid to Ark's side from his undercarriage and pulled themselves back, like a frisbee.

"Duck!" was all I had time to say.

The disks launched themselves out and came within feet of us. Ark's perfectly aimed throw would have sliced us in half if Zidane and I hadn't fallen to our stomachs. The golden disks flew overhead, then boomeranged back into place on Ark's body. It would have been amazing to watch if it couldn't kill us so easily.

"Dammit!" Zidane cried out. "We can't keep doing this!"

"I have an idea!" Freya shouted. "Amarant, I need him distracted!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Amarant said grumpily, but he complied all the same, throwing more rocks at Ark's faceplate. The enormous airship turned around to stare him down, as if they were both setting up for the most one-sided fistfight in history.

"Good," Freya said, reaching Zidane and myself. "Now we can win. Zidane, you hold onto me and we'll hop onto its back. I don't think it can reach us there. We'll just find a way to destroy it from there."

"Good plan," Zidane said, taking her hand. "Let's go."

"Hang on!" I said. I saw the way Freya was talking, speaking as if I wasn't even here. "Don't leave me behind. I'm going with you."

Freya glanced at me, still obviously distrustful. "It's enough of a strain to get one of you up there," she said. "I don't know if I can get both of you up onto that thing."

"So you'd rather leave me down here, where the next attack could kill me at any moment?"

"Freya," Zidane bumped in. "We'll need every bit of help we can get. And besides, you haven't been able to use your dragon magic, have you?"

As Freya weighed her options, there were a dozen loud hisses coming from Ark, like a bucket of water being poured into a hot pan. Dozens of strings of light shot out of some cannons on Ark's main deck, aiming right for Amarant. The strong-armed bandit had only seconds to react as the Photons crashed into the ground where he had been standing, but it still kicked up a mess of rubble.

Amarant was quickly knocked out of sight.

"We don't have time to argue!" Zidane said. "Freya, get us up there!"

"Alright, fine," she finally said. She grabbed both of our hands and we took off towards Ark, but Freya kept talking as we went. "But no weird stuff from you," she glared at me. "I've had enough mysteries for one day."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I muttered.

Like I could control when weird shit happened to me.

XXXXXXXX

"ALL UNITS, COME IN!" Kaiten shouted into his earpiece as he ran at a mad dash. "DAMMIT, SOMEONE ANSWER!"

"Give it up!" Aitris yelled from his side. "We haven't been in contact with them since we walked in here!"

Kaiten just growled at his sergeant. "I have to try! Makareth is dead! We don't even know what happened to the rest of the squad!"

In their attempts to reach Innural, Kaiten, Aitris and Makareth had encountered multiple traps. They quickly tired, leading to Makareth making a wrong move, placing him in front of a soul-enhanced Vulcan cannon. He never stood a chance. Kaiten didn't have the stomach to count how many pieces Makareth's body was blown into.

"So, the plan's the same?" Aitris asked as they rounded another corner. A sentry gun popped out of the floor in front of them, but he took care of it at once with a Fin streaking across the ground. Traps like that had been springing up intermediately.

"Find Innural," Kaiten commanded. "I'll kill him before he can pull anything else. Then we knock out the communication jammer, stop all his traps, then pull everyone else out."

"Boss, you know, we might be the—"

"We are NOT the only ones left!" Kaiten barked. "We only know that Makareth and Zareth are down. Everyone else must have completed their objectives by now."

Aitris didn't have the heart to confront Kaiten on his foolish enthusiasm. Both of them both knew what the others' chances were. Someone had set them up back home, most likely some cowardly appeaser, linking mission Intel to Innural or someone in Brummia.

Kaiten was gonna have a lot of asses to kick when he got home.

"That bastard's central control room should be around this corner!" Kaiten said. "If there's one thing right about our Intel, please let it be the map!"

Aitris had never seen Kaiten like this. Mission after mission, they went up against overwhelming odds, yet he always stayed calm and led his men to victory. The thought of losing one man drove Kaiten to near insanity. Aitris didn't even have to wonder though, if this rage was caused by losing his troops or losing the battle.

Kaiten was as loyal to the other Spectral Knights as they were to him.

"Here!" Kaiten yelled, skidding to a halt in front of a large door.

The door was ornately designed, complete with a sleek shine and a detailed, golden doorway. The rest of Ckelen-te-Clu was cast in drab, grey walls and ancient architecture. This room, however, matched Innural's need to stand out. Obviously, he had redesigned it after he became the chief scientist to match his ego.

"Let's go," Kaiten told Aitris, without even asking if his sergeant was ready. Kaiten powered up a pair of Explosions on the tips of both his blades, then crashed them together. The Whirlwind that formed burst through the doors, utterly destroying them. They fell in chunks and splinters, revealing the control room on the other side.

Inside, the room was cast in bright white, making it look far cleaner and more sterile than any other section of the facility. The lights were bright for a change, and computers lined the walls. There was a high ceiling, taking up much of the floor above, allowing for greater supercomputers. Several holograms showed statistics and video feeds, many of which showed the dad Spectral Knights. Aitris almost stepped back in horror at the sight. They had suffered far worse casualties than he had feared.

Kaiten saw all these things in his peripheral vision, but focused all his attention and fury at the desk in the back of the room, sitting high and mighty on a raised platform.

Hart Innural just stared right back.

The madman of Ckelen-te-Clu wore a flowing white lab coat, unbuttoned with a clean and pressed dress shirt underneath. He was the epitome of performance in Ckelen-te-Clu and his attire and composure matched. He stood proudly, but without a smile, gazing at Kaiten, aware of the danger the man still posed.

"HART INNURAL!" Kaiten shouted. He had never been so angry before in his life. He barely kept it together as he took the first few steps into the room. Aitris entered behind him.

"Your continued crimes have led to countless deaths of my countrymen," Kaiten snarled. "And you killed my squad"

"Six of them," Innural was quick to quip back. "And if I recall, you broke into my office."

"You're a monster!" Kaiten's arms and blades glowed as his rage fueled his power. It flowed throughout him like wildfire.

"Purple magic," Innural speculated. He wanted to move closer to investigate, but he knew that moving from his desk would lead to his immediate death. "Such a mystery. Your power is second only to the legendary power of Trance, but of course, no more Trance users exist. Such a shame…"

"Will you shut up!" Aitris yelled. "I'm sick of you. I'm gonna rip your arms off and beat you to death with them!"

"Your arrogance was your undoing," Innural taunted. "You all believed yourselves invincible, and when reality struck you, you couldn't face it. You only have yourselves to blame for this."

"I dunno," came a new voice from the doorway. "Blaming you seems pretty satisfying."

Remus walked into the room, beside Kaiten. His powers were overflowing as well. His entire left arm was coated in ice that fit him like a sleeve, constantly streaming and never stopping. Fire covered his right arm and moved the same way. His control allowed him to wield the magic without feeling the slightest hint of heat of cold.

"And the third survivor arrives," Innural said, folding his arms behind his back.

"Remus?" Aitris asked. ""What happened to you?"

"Karis sacrificed himself to save us," Remus said. Steam poured out of his mouth as he breathed. "Ank died while we were running to this room. Five sentry guns popped out of nowhere at once."

"You can thank my automated defenses for that," Innural said.

"THAT'S IT!" Aitris shouted. "YOU DIE!"

Aitris was about to charge and give way to his bloodlust, but a loud thumping began shaking the entire floor. The supercomputers shook as the thumping drew ever closer, until it began echoing in everyone's ears. Then, there was a brief pause, followed by three concussive bursts. On the third one, the wall to the Spectral Knights' left blasted open, collapsing a panel of computers. A cloud of smoke and electric sparks flew as a silhouette walked through, wasting no time in entering the room.

"You miserable fuck!" Aiex said, dragging his war hammer in behind him. His hoisted his hammer up, slamming it down into the floor and cracking most of the floor tiles in the room. He walked the entire way to this room destroying and damaging everything near him. He wasn't about to stop.

"And now all the survivors are here," Innural said, still showing no sign of fear. "I must admit, you managed to get through all the traps I set out before you, even though I knew your every move. I'm impressed."

"So we _were_ sold out," Kaiten said, calming down. He was glad to see that he had at least a few squad mates still alive. "We're going to kill you Innural, then we're going home and killing everyone involved in selling us out."

"Well, you _would have_," Innural said confidently. He walked behind his desk and took a seat. "Too bad for you that I am a genius. I have planned for every contingency, even if every one of you had made it to this room."

Innural pressed a button at his desk, and soon, mechanics began rotating and pushing things into place. Suddenly, a thick glass sheet slid from the floor and connected with the ceiling, shutting Innural off in a large glass box. He folded his hands in his lap and leaned back in his chair.

"You should have left when you could," Innural said. "But I'm glad you didn't. I've been experimenting with souls lately, trying to outdo my predecessor Boleman. You see, his theories are rather limiting, and I would very much like to break them. I don't believe he ever had the honor of studying souls infused with Purple magic."

"Then you're going to be disappointed," Kaiten said. "Knights, attack the same point on the glass! It could be bulletproof."

"I'm afraid you won't get the chance," Innural said. "This glass is triple coated in selazane. It is physically impossible for any of you to break it, even _with_ Purple magic. And besides, you have other problems to deal with."

Another sheet of glass slid over the door to the room. There was a sharp hiss from the ceiling as a white cloud started seeping through the vents. Outside, all four Spectral Knights could see a hail of gunfire pumping out of three or maybe four sentry guns. Even if they did run out, they would be torn to shreds in seconds.

"My desk isn't ventilated for a reason," Innural pointed out, pointing around the ceiling. Indeed, the section of glass he was contained in didn't have any vents. It was completely airtight.

The heavy gas sank to the floor quickly, cutting off any chance of escape through any more holes in the walls. All four remaining Spectral Knights gripped their weapons tightly and stood back to back, staring down the room in all four directions. Kaiten looked straight at Innural, understanding the weight of the situation.

"You had better kill us," Kaiten said. "I don't know what you're planning, but if you leave even one of us alive, we will kill you and destroy everything dear to you."

"Bold words," Innural said, finally flashing a cruel grin. "But you're too late. I will take every precaution to ensure my total victory."

As the gas seeped closer to the center of the room, Kaiten could only stand proudly as an Olestan soldier, and more importantly, as the leader of the Spectral Knights. He raised his sword up, standing defiant to the end.

"THE SPECTRAL KNIGHTS WILL NEVER DIE!" he cried out.

"GARUUU!" Aitris, Remus and Aiex cried with him.

The cry lasted as long as it could, until the gas finally overcame them. It rendered them all unconscious in mere seconds. Kaiten fought it as long as he could, but fell to his knees and dropped his swords. The last thing he saw was Innural, staring down from behind his glass shield.

"Somehow…" Kaiten muttered as his teammates passed out. "Someday… I will kill you…"

With the last of his strength gone, Kaiten fell forward. He was asleep before he hit the ground.

XXXXXXXX

It turned out that Freya's plan didn't go as well as we thought it would.

Although Ark was a large airship hovering in a cramped room, he was able to bank and rock, trying to knock us off of its back. Zidane didn't last long and fell below and hit the ground hard. The situation got worse when Ark turned his attacks on us, even though we were right on top of him. A series of Photons kept Freya busy as the ship turned and banked.

I managed to hide myself away in a small alcove in the stern of the airship. I was protected from Ark's rapid movements as well as his Photon and Boomerang attacks. I couldn't do much to attack, but in all truth, we should have retreated when we had the chance.

"Trevor!" Freya yelled as another cluster of Photons pounded the deck. "We need to do something! Find a weakness!"

"How?" I yelled back. "This deck is solid, and I don't see any doors or hatches anywhere!"

I had managed to make a few nicks in the paneling, but as far as any actual damage went, I had made no progress. My magic was still sealed by this damn place, otherwise I could cut Ark in half. Amarant had made a few dents in the faceplate and I lost track of everything Freya was able to do, but so far, things were looking bad.

We were going to die at this rate.

_Kaiten,_ I thought, using up my last trump card. _I don't know what happened to you, but I could really use a hand here…_

Like before, Kaiten was silent. Now, with him gone, Zidane and the others barely holding it together in this fight, and me without my magic, I really didn't know what to do. My story couldn't end here, could it?

_Kaiten!_

"…_No…"_

My eyes shot open. I even stood, gripping the paneling so I could keep my balance. _Kaiten, are you alright?_

"_NOOO!"_

Suddenly, the world around me exploded. A sudden rush of wind overtook all my senses. I could feel power rushing through me like never before. My eyes went numb, even though I still saw everything with perfect clarity. However, the sound of Ark's rotors was deafened by the overwhelming wind all around me, as if there were small tornados in each of my ears.

The sensation probably lasted a few seconds, but it felt like it took a minute to complete.

When it ended, my entire body was numb, and my body was glowing a deep blood red. I wanted to look, down, to examine when had happened, but I wasn't in control of my own body. Kaiten had taken over.

"_Kaiten? Did you Trance?_"

I was hardly a mind reader, but I could tell that Kaiten was too forgone to talk to me. Something had happened to him. Perhaps it was because he had been silent for so long, or because this place had done something to him.

Kaiten stood away from the paneling and walked so calmly, it almost seemed like Ark was hovering perfectly still.

"THE SPECTRAL KNIGHTS WILL NEVER DIE!"

Kaiten rushed out from cover. He moved so fast that red followed behind him like a shadow. He made for the main mast, clearing the distance in mere seconds. He struck quickly, digging my orange short swords deep into the wood. Even without Chi, Kaiten could still do some serious damage.

Ark noticed the damage at once. Even though it wasn't enough to seriously hurt the airship, he still took notice of it. Ark fired a barrage of Photons at us, piecing them closely together.

Kaiten just stood his ground and watched as they got closer.

"_Kaiten?_"

Just as it seemed too late to dodge, Kaiten jumped backwards. He moved so quickly that I barely registered the moment. In a split second, my body had moved ten feet away, just out of range of the Photons. Instead, they crashed into the mast, adding to the damage that Kaiten had already inflicted. The wood split and cracked, breaking beyond the point that the metal trusses could support.

Kaiten took another balanced stance and swung the short swords through them once more. Using finesse rather than strength, Kaiten was able to sever enough of the remaining mast, causing it to collapse. It fell to one side, chipping and creaking the entire time, until finally, the main mast fell free and Ark fell out of the sky.

"Look out!" Freya shouted as Ark plummeted. She jumped free and prepared for the impact. I could only hope Zidane and Amarant weren't underneath the airship. Kaiten slammed the short swords into the deck and gripped right.

When the impact finally came, a rush of wind came out from under the hull. The others were probably knocked away by it. I was just glad that my entire body was numb, because the shock that wracked it would have completely thrown me off. I could tell that my joints were barely holding together, even after the crashing ship threatened to pop my joints out.

"_Oh god,_" I muttered. "_Do you think you could warn me next time you do something like that?_"

"Not over!" was all Kaiten said, though I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or to himself. Almost as if in response, Ark let out another barrage of Photons from the stern. Kaiten took off, this time running for the bow. The Photons punched into the deck again, further adding to the damage around the remains of the main mast.

The explosion behind us shot splinters everywhere, but in his Trance state, Kaiten was able to outrun it in a split second. His speed, agility, dexterity and strength were hitting tiers that I didn't think my body was capable of. I wondered what he could do if Oeilvert's magical seal wasn't suppressing him.

As Kaiten neared the bow, he jumped. He leapt over the end of the ship and aimed for the thick neck leading out to the dragon-shaped faceplate. The guardrail was barely noticeable, but it was enough to hold on to. The neck wasn't meant for people walking on, so Kaiten had to anchor himself on the guardrail for the next attack.

He struck a short sword deep into the back of the head. The faceplate may have protected from frontal attacks, but its back was considerably weaker. A twist of the thrusted blade and the metal panels were forced open, revealing rows upon rows of circuitry and wires.

Kaiten wasted no time in slashing through the wires. Sparks crackled everywhere and jumped at him, but he kept cutting through. Ark seemed to whine in protest, just as a fire sprouted to life within his head. With one final stab deep into the back of Ark's head, the last vestiges of "life" within Ark started to fade. An explosion deep within the faceplate brought fire and smoke pouring out at Kaiten. He hopped the distance to the ground, landing hard, but gracefully.

Ark was left sparking and damaged beyond repair. The others gathered to watch as Kaiten just walked away, not bothering to watch the smaller explosions that ripped through Arks hull.

"Trevor!" Zidane said excitedly. "That was amazing!"

"Wasn't bad," Amarant said, folding his arms. Freya just watched from a distance.

"But, one thing's off," Zidane continued. "I thought you turned green when you went into Trance. Why are you red?"

Kaiten made no effort to interact with Zidane or the others and just kept walking towards the elevator platform. He stepped up and the large green stone hummed to life.

"Hey, Trevor!" Zidane called out. "Wait for us!"

But Kaiten did no such thing. The elevator zoomed off, leaving everyone else behind.

"_Kaiten!_" I called out to him. "_What the hell are you doing? The others are gonna get suspicious!"_

The color finally faded from my body as Kaiten's trance left him. He sat down quietly in the middle of the platform, obviously trying to rest for the long ride.

"_Kaiten?_" I asked after another minute. "_What's going on? Are you alright?_"

"No, I'm not," he finally said. "Not by a long shot."

XXXXXXXX

Kaiten stirred, trying to wake himself up. The knock out gas did a number on him and the rest as the surviving members of the Spectral Knights.

The room he was in was dark. There were no windows and there were no lights. There was only a dull pain in both his arms as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

"The hell… happened?" he asked. "Guys…? Where are you?"

Kaiten blinked, trying to find his bearings as quickly as possible. It was only then that he realized that he was hanging by his arms. His feet weren't touching the ground. And the pain in his arms was only getting worse.

There was a noise to the left. Kaiten turned his head to see what it was and saw three silhouettes, two standing next to a cart and one hanging from the wall. Kaiten narrowed his eyes to look at the figure on the wall. It took him a moment, but he could tell who it was.

"Aitris?" Kaiten called over weakly. But Aitris didn't respond. He just hung motionless, as if the brush of wind could knock him over. There was a weak glint in his eye that Kaiten had seen thousands of times before.

Aitris was dead.

"Aitris!" Kaiten called again. The shock of seeing one of his last remaining friends succumb to death awoke him to his surroundings. The two men sitting by the table came into focus. Hart Innural was one of them. He was holding a large vial filled with a thick green gas in both hands to the second man, his assistant. The gas inside the vial was highly charged, shifting with bolts of energy every few seconds.

"Innural!" Kaiten hissed. "What the hell did you do to my sergeant?"

"You're awake?" Innural said, honestly surprised. "I guess the leader of the famed Spectral Knights has far more potential than I suspected."

"Don't fuck with me you freak!" Kaiten shouted. He thrashed in his confinement, but soon found the pain in his arms to be too much. He yelped in pain and settled down, but the pain did not subside. He examined his arms and saw a dozen hooks inserted into the skin, some even threading through muscle tissue.

Innural just had to torture him even while his was unconscious.

"I don't suppose you know what this is, do you?" Innural said, tapping the vial on the table. There were eight others just like it joining the first. "No, I don't suppose you would. This, my dear fellow, is a soul, ripped from its host and contained in a pure energy form."

"What the hell are you doing?" Kaiten demanded, biting through the pain as he spoke.

"Klemison, give me another extractor," Innural said to his assistant. "Souls can make for an amazing power source. Once you pull one out of a body, you can use it to power anything you would like. You've noticed a few of my own experiments using these inside turret guns inside this facility. You can even power a tank, or an airship for over a year on a single soul. But, of course, the body requires a soul and dies without one. Why, just look at the rest of your squad."

It was only then that Kaiten noticed how large the room was. It was set as a deep underground dungeon, complete with chains and tables set out, either for experimenting or torturing. General Saiko's office was only slightly smaller than this room, but was much less horrifying.

Dotting the edges of the room were the corpses of Kaiten's fallen squad.

"And now, you shall join them," Innural said happily. He held a soul extractor in both hands. It looked like an overly large surgical needle, but with cybernetics attached to the needle. A vial for holding his soul was connected to it from the table. "Oh, I can't wait to see what I can do with a soul infused with Purple magic! Klemison, hold his head down."

Kaiten struggled to free himself, but even the slightest movement brought unbelievable pain to him. He could only shout in anger as Innural's assistant held him in place and forced him to look at the floor.

"Listen to me you sick bastard!" Kaiten said in his final moments. "I will come back, even if you kill my body, I WILL find a way to kill you and avenge my squad!"

"To hell with your squad," Innural gloated. "Their power will help me change the course of Terran history! I will go down as the most brilliant mind of all time!"

"INNURAAALLLL!"

As the needle pressed into Kaiten's spine, he could feel something dragging him backwards, even from within his motionless body. There were only a few seconds for Kaiten to wonder if this was it for him…

And then there was darkness…

XXXXXXXX

"_And… that's how your squad died_?" I asked.

"The rest of them, yeah," Kaiten said. "Fucking miserable. They deserved to die as heroes, not lab experiments."

The elevator reached the top of its flight. Kaiten walked off the platform just as it glowed again and began a descent. Zidane and the others must have called for it from the bottom. We had a few minutes to wait until they arrived, probably very angrily.

"The next thing I knew, I was standing around this big empty white room. Your subconscious. I was in such shock that I didn't even move for days. When I finally did, I was so angry that I think it affected you a little."

"_Wait, you mean the feelings of bloodlust I had in the Festival of the Hunt?_"

Kaiten nodded, a redundant habit when it was just the two of us. "Yeah. I wanted to kill anything and everything that I could to get back at Innural. But, it was blind and undirected rage, so I guess all it did was alter your perception a little."

"_Yeah, maybe._" Kaiten's story still had me in a shock. I was glad that he was able to open up to me, but it couldn't have been easy for him. I knew how hard it was to open up to people sometimes.

"_Kaiten, you have no idea how sorry I am,_" I sympathized. "_I felt the same way when my mother died._"

"It is NOT the same!" Kaiten blurted out. "You lost ONE mother! I lost NINE lifelong allies!" There was a slow, awkward moment as Kaiten collected himself. "But… thank you for the sentiment. I'm sorry I shouted."

"_No, don't worry about it,_" I said. "_I know how it is._"

I heard Kaiten grunt at me comparing our situations again. He just walked over to the nearest wall and sat down while we waited for the others to show up. I decided to drop the subject and ask another pressing question.

"_So, I saw you Trance back there. I didn't know you could do that._"

"Neither did I," Kaiten admitted. "I had been wondering what it was like ever since you Tranced in the Iifa Tree."

"_Yeah. Trance is supposed to be a really rare ability. Lucky that we have two more people who can do it in our party, huh?_"

Kaiten thought for a moment. "Yeah," he said after a while. "But what if it's not luck?"

"_What do you mean? Coincidence is kind of a stretch here as it is. I mean, we both use Chi, and we can both Trance when we're pissed off._"

"That's my point exactly. My Purple magic stared to combine with you when I started to come out of shock during that festival. My powers coming back must have affected you by giving you your own powers."

"_And I Tranced first,_" I said, seeing where he was going with this. "_When I Tranced, it must have unlocked something in you, so now you can use it too!"_

"Exactly. That's why our Trance forms have different colors."

"_That is… both awesome _and _freaky._"

"Yeah… really."

Kaiten stood and walked into the next room. The projector that showed the two worlds absorbing each other had disappeared, leaving me without a chance for Kaiten to translate it. It must have used the last of its power, because nothing started up when we walked into the middle of the room and stopped.

"Trevor," Kaiten said, using my name for the second time ever. "You take over. I'm going to rest. Just, please… get me out of this place…"

My sensations came back to me as the numbness left me. I flexed my arms and grabbed the hilts of my short swords, still in their sheaths.

"Yeah, sure thing buddy," I told him.

"_Thank you_."

Kaiten went silent, presumably to rest, or to avoid the rest of this place. I decided not to let him down and started walking towards the exit.

Zidane and the others could meet me outside.

XXXXXXXX

34 pages and 12000 words. Not my biggest chapter by a few thousand words, but certainly one of my longest. XD I just felt like celebrating. ^^

I wanted to make this chapter bigger than this and give all of the Spectral Knights a more endearing send away, but I had a small incident to fix. Instead of working on Shattered Mind last weekend, I had to take care of a friend who had been assaulted by her boyfriend (she's fine now), so if this chapter seems like it's not all it could have been, I'm sorry, but real life is a bitch.

That's why I like living in fantasies more. ;)


	12. I Knew Them Well, Horatio

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: For those of you who don't know, I work in a counterterrorist position in the Department of Homeland Security in America. As such, I only have one thing to say this month:

To Leon Panetta and the heroes of SEAL Team 6, Thank You.

Chapter 12- I Knew Him Well Horatio.

XXXXXXXX

"Finally made it back," Zidane said.

We sped back from Oeilvert as quickly as we could, making it back to the other side of the planet in only two days. Zorn and Thorn tried to take the Gulug stone from us, promising they would deliver it to Kuja themselves, but none of us trusted them as far as we could punt them.

Zidane guarded the stone jealously, never leaving the little closet we had to share as a bedroom. Amarant and Freya kept guard to keep the stone safe, without which, we couldn't save the others. I had the feeling that none of them wanted me around anymore, so I tried to keep my distance. I spent most of my time on the trip back pacing the ship and trying to talk to Black Mages who were too frightened to respond.

The whole flight was uncomfortable. I had to find a way to explain things to the others without adding too many questions. If I told them about terra and Kaiten now, it would only confuse them and cast me out. I had to get to Terra to keep my promise to Kaiten. His knights deserved revenge.

My explanation could wait.

We stood at the end of Kuja's palace's "garage". Who knew if Kuja kept his promise and let the others live? I knew that the chanced were somewhere between slim and nil.

"Well, no rest for the wicked," Zidane roused. "Let's go guys."

Zidane ran down the ramp, following the path to the teleporting rune. Amarant walked behind him, but what bothered me was Freya. Rather than just walk down, she made it a point to push by me. I had to grab the guardrail before I fell over the side of the ship.

"Hey!" I called after her.

"Sorry," Freya said, clearly not meaning any of it.

I let her take the lead, not wanting to make a big deal of it. I was angry, of course, but my relationship with the others was tenuous at the moment.

"**She could have killed you,**" came the new voice, Damien. "**You should kill her first.**"

_What?_ I shouted back at him. _I'm not gonna try to kill Freya! She's my friend!_

"**Is she? She tried to kill you just now!**"

_No, that was an accident. She was just being rude, not homicidal._

"**She doesn't trust you. You're going through very hard times. None of them know your hardships.**"

_Well, yeah, but—_

"**A true friend would ask what's wrong. A true friend would trust you. She is not your friend. You should keep an eye on her.**"

_But that's…_

As much as I wanted to argue against him, it all made perfect sense. I was having such a hard time here. Kaiten was going through his own troubles and I couldn't tell anyone else the truth. How would they react if I told them I wasn't from this world? At best, they would think I was insane.

I had to brace myself against a wall as I walked along the path. So many thoughts swam in my head at once. None of what was happening to me was fair.

"Hey Trevor!" Zidane called back from the side of the teleportation rune. "Hurry up! We have to go!"

"Uh… right!" I said. Freya was gone as far as I was concerned, and Amarant never really opened up to anyone else, but Zidane? Could I still trust him?

I had to think about it as I walked slowly towards the rest of them.

XXXXXXXX

The teleportation rune didn't take us back to the holding cells like the others had expected. Instead, we were treated to a foyer, complete with carpet even better than the best Persian rugs. There was only one door, which led into the room Kuja was waiting in. A pair of angel statues watched both sides of the doorway.

"What the…" Zidane said. "Where are we now? Did we take a wrong turn?"

Kuja's voice answered over an intercom. "Welcome back." Even by his voice, I could tell he was wearing an arrogant smirk. "I'm inside the room passed the stairs."

We all glanced through the doorway, up a few stairs and into the next hall. A fancy chandelier lit everything. Only a small walkway was carpeted. Everything else was composed of wire frames and detailed metallurgy.

"But I want you to come alone Zidane," Kuja added. "Alone."

"It's clearly a trap," Freya said. "I don't like it."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Zidane sighed. "I'll be okay. You guys wait for me here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. If anything happens, I'll call for you."

Zidane ran through the foyer and ran to the doors on the far side of the hall. He disappeared around a corner in the room, leaving Freya, Amarant and myself alone in the foyer. I sat on one of the stairs and leaned on my hands, pretending that the uneasy silence wasn't really there.

"Do you think the others are alright?" Freya asked, directing the question to Amarant more than me.

"Dunno," Amarant said. "Kuja didn't have a reason to keep them alive. They're probably dead."

"They're fine," I tried to offer, but Freya cut me off.

"We have to assume they're still alive," Freya said over me. "They're strong. They'll make it out."

Just then, there was a bright light coming from the front of the foyer. Lines of code, like something ripped out of the Matrix, descended on top of a second teleportation rune across the hall from the one we entered in. When the light cleared and the code faded, Dagger, Eiko, Vivi, Quina, Steiner and Regent Cid all stepped out and rushed to us.

"Guys!" Eiko cried out.

"Where's Zidane?" Vivi asked.

"Went inside," Amarant answered, pointing back with his thumb.

"How did you escape?" Freya asked.

Regent Cid, who had shared a cell with Zidane and opened the other cells, stuck his frog chest out proudly. "Actually—"

"No time!" Eiko stopped him. "We gotta go stop Zidane!"

"We must make haste!" Steiner said, taking charge. He led the way into the next room, ready to break into the next room. With sword raised high, ready to cleave Kuja in half if he so got the chance. One by one, everyone rushed in, except me. I knew what was coming.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Eiko called out. Being so young and short, she lagged behind the others. By the time they were all in the next room with Zidane, she and I were the only ones still in the foyer.

_I could stop it from happening,_ I realized. Kuja planned for this and was going to capture Eiko so he could drain her Eidolons from her, just like he did to Dagger. If I stopped him, then I could earn back some of the trust I lost in Oeilvert. True, it would alter the storyline a little, but I've done that before. Besides, Kuja doesn't accomplish that much with his next plan. A little suggestion and minor conversation and I could get everything back on track.

"Hurry up Eiko!" I called after her.

She nearly made it to the door when suddenly, both heavy iron doors slammed in our faces.

"Aah!" Eiko cried out. "What the heck?"

"Well that's poor timing," I said. "Keep your guard up Eiko. We don't know what Kuja has set up around here."

"Will you relax?" Eiko said. "Kuja's an idiot! We got out of our prison cells because Cid opened them up! There's no way he can have anything planned."

"Don't underestimate your enemies," the Regent said, hopping along as the last of our group. "Especially not a man like Kuja. He's very wily."

His point came with a thrown stone half a second later. It hit him square in the head, knocking him out in one blow.

"Cid!" I called out in surprise.

"What a freak! This frog can speak!" Zorn taunted, walking into the room with his jester twin.

"What did you do that for?" Eiko demanded. She grabbed her flute, ready to summon an Eidolon to her side.

"Hi guys," I said, taking a step forward. "Nice of you to come by. You weren't thinking of ambushing us, were you?"

The jester twins just glanced at each other.

"It is the girly one," Zorn mocked.

"The girly one, it is," Thorn agreed.

"He doesn't know!" Zorn realized happily, though I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Our surprise, it is still secret!" Thorn cackled.

"The hell are you talking about?" I asked, fed up with them both. I needed to prove my innocence, and kicking their asses and saving Eiko was the best way to do that. Besides, I wanted to set a new record for long distance punting.

"We were not ready before," Zorn taunted, pulling his hands back.

"But ready now, we are," Thorn completed. He matched his brother's stance.

Before I could attack either of them, they threw their hands forward. I only knew that they had unlocked each other's powers in the split-second that the air heated up around me.

"Flare!"

"Meteor!"

Two of the strongest black magic attacks ever conceived converged on me at once. Flare was the very heat and light of a sun and surrounded me at once. Though it was a brief assault, the light blinded me and the heat shocked my system. It was only by sheer luck that I fell backwards instead of forward though.

A second after the Flare dissipated, the Meteor crashed through the ceiling. A manifested stone that was created high in the atmosphere soared through the air, heating up into a red-hot boulder. It was only the size of a basketball when it hit the floor two feet in front of me, but the shockwave was more than enough to send my incapacitated body flying through the air and into Kuja's heavy steel doors.

My last thoughts before passing out were those of realization that I failed and Eiko was going to be kidnapped. It seemed that even when I tried, I couldn't really alter the storyline.

As I fell into unconsciousness, I knew I would have to find a new way to regain my lost trust.

XXXXXXXX

Our pursuit of Kuja was nerve-wracking.

We, in the Blue Narcissus, were at the mercy of the winds. Kuja, however, had the only working steam-powered airship in the world. He could go wherever he wanted, as fast as he wanted. Even now, the Hilde Garde was edging over the horizon, appearing as little more than a dot in the distant sky. The only reason we could see that much of him was because we had the winds' favor. We sailed to the west only slightly slower than Kuja did.

Even though we had a map and a good idea where Kuja was going, the trip was still nerve wracking. I spent my spare time staring into the sky, watching the airship slip away from us. I was angry and humiliated. Those damned jesters made me look like an idiot and screwed up my plans.

"**Soon…**" Damien often told me as we sailed. "**You know the story. They will die in the volcano. You could be the one to kill them. You could have your revenge for your total humiliation.**"

_I told you I don't want to hear it voice,_ I thought, trying to diffuse the temptation. But even as Damien gave me his little whispers, I dug my fingernails into my folded arms.

I was pissed.

"Trevor?"

I turned and saw Zidane walking up behind me. I gave him little more than a glance, then turned to stare at the airship longer.

"You've been like this for days," Zidane tried to reason. "No one blames you for letting her get kidnapped. I'm sure everything will be alright."

"Huh?" I said at first. "Oh, right. That."

I knew it was another lie. I had seen Freya talking to the others and glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. I had seen the same thing dozens of times in high school. Now, not only did Freya not trust me, but she was spreading rumors and lies about me to the others. No one would trust me now. I was all alone on this mission. Fitting, since I didn't belong here in the first place.

"Don't worry, we'll get her back. We can already see land. That must be where Kuja is going."

A frozen continent opened up before us. We could see smoke rising out of an enormous volcano in the center of the land. Mt. Gulug, whose entrance could only be unlocked by the Gulug Stone, which the others had unwittingly handed over to him. Now Kuja could use it to access the hidden shrine inside the mountain and extract the Eidolons from Eiko like he had done with Dagger. The whole plan would just give Kuja a new arsenal of weapons after he lost his old Eidolons in the attack on Alexandria.

Lights at the base of the mountain told us where Esto Gaza was, a city of devoted lunatics. They worshiped the light that came out of another nearby island called, the Shimmering Isle. I remembered something about a Path of Souls that let the living climb towards the stars. It sounded a lot like heaven, but the Shimmering Isle was an artifact left over from the failed conversion between Terra and Gaia. All that island lead to was another planet, and if it were possible, I would have jumped overboard just so I could warp to Terra early.

Hart Innural had to die.

"Just relax," Zidane said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You know it's not your fault that she was captured, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks Zidane."

I wasn't even focusing on Eiko being captured or whether or not it was even my fault. I had been obsessing about killing Zorn and Thorn. My heart beat with excitement in a way I was unfamiliar with, but I welcomed the sensation.

I wanted to kill something, and soon…

XXXXXXXX

Another day of sailing let us land on the frozen shores of the Lost Continent.

The people of Esto Gaza were completely isolated and didn't have a dock. We had no choice but to throw the anchor just offshore. The frozen continent chilled us to the bone. My chain mail armor seemed to bite into my skin like layers of razor wire. Hugging my arms to my chest to keep warm only made the chains bite harder.

"Alright, listen up!" Zidane called, struggling in the cold with the rest of us. There was a small furnace in the back of the ship that we were all aching to get back to, as it was the only source of warmth we had onboard. Still, Zidane seemed to need to give us a rallying speech.

"Kuja's taken Eiko," he began. "We don't know why, or where exactly, but that's his ship in the distance. We can't just let him do as he wants. Eiko could be killed, and Kuja's plans have all been too dangerous to ignore so far. So… we're gonna go in there… and find him! And…"

Zidane was losing steam fast. Perhaps the cold was getting to him, but I knew he needed a hand. I unsheathed both of my short swords and clanged the flats of them together, piercing the air with a sharp ring.

"Let's get 'im!" I shouted gruffly.

That seemed to elicit more of a response from the rest of our band of heroes, though it was little more than applause and a whistle. Everyone piled off the ship and onto the frozen dirt.

"Thanks for that," Zidane said. We were the last two off the ship.

"For what?" I asked.

"I kinda slowed down there. I thought a rousing speech would get everyone in the mood to hunt down Kuja and save Eiko. Seemed appropriate anyway. If it wasn't for you, I would have just made myself look like an idiot."

"Right, don't worry about it.," I dismissed. Had I done it to help him, or was I just trying to get off this freezing boat? I wasn't even sure of my own motivations anymore. Maybe once this was all over, I could take a vacation. Saving the world would certainly earn me that at least.

"I guess I'm just not used to the whole leadership thing," Zidane continued as we stepped off the ship. The others walked towards Esto Gaza without hesitation. The city was bright, even in the afternoon, and that meant warm fire. I personally had my fill of cold ever since the Ice Caverns.

"You've been doing fine so far," I told him, but I was only half paying attention.

"Yeah, but it's not easy. Every time we stop Kuja, he already has another plan underway. I'm beginning to wonder if we can really stop him at all."

"Hurry up you two!" Freya called impatiently from the group ahead of us.

"We'd better get moving," Zidane suggested.

"Right," I agreed. The fires of Esto Gaza looked very inviting.

XXXXXXXX

The front plaza of Esto Gaza was something of a Buddhist temple.

Snow drifted along cobblestone and collected against the rounded buildings. Short domes covered each building, most likely for heat. We could see fires burning inside and an orange glow lit up each window. At the top of a short flight of stairs, we could see the main building open up before us.

"I'm so cold!" Vivi said. Even with his heavy coat, he shook like a shaved poodle.

"We're almost there Master Vivi," Steiner assured him. "Though… it is cold…"

A frozen tundra that led to an ancient volcano. My hypothalamus was going to blow up inside my brain. Who knew what that would do to poor Kaiten?

Amarant was the first to reach the front door. He punched the twin doors, revealing the darkest lit room I had ever seen.

We all piled inside. Immediately, we saw a pillar only a few feet from the front door. It was stacked in shrinking layers and decorated with candles like a Christmas tree. Even so, the brown walls and dark, neglected corners made the inside of the temple seem desolate and uninviting. The room was warm, but the light didn't penetrate far, as if something was holding it back.

Even worse was the elderly bishop standing by the candle display, staring down his nose at us. He was dressed regally with golden-colored cloth. He wore a tall hat, also made of the golden cloth, but I was busy staring at his staff, the closest thing he had to a weapon. It didn't seem magical at all, like Vivi's staves, but it jutted out at the top, almost like a scythe.

I wanted him to hit me with it so I had an excuse to kick his ass.

"What do you beggers want?" he asked in a crotchety tone. "You are in a holy place. Keep the noise down!"

"Aya! He not nice!" Quina complained, quite loudly. It echoed in the contained hall.

"Silence!" the bishop ordered again. The echoed startled Vivi and made him fall back onto his rear. He picked himself up quickly and lowered the brim of his hat to cover up his embarrassment.

"Hmph, just like the other pointy-hats!" the bishop scoffed rudely. "No manners at all!"

I hated the man already.

"Hey mister," Zidane said. "Did you say you've seen more guys like my friend here?"

"How DARE you address me so!" the bishop yelled. You'd have though we had just accused him of pedophilia. "I am the holy priest of Esto Gaza, the holy place in which you stand. Mind your tongue child!"

Everyone in our group, especially Zidane, were showing signs of weariness of this guy. I knew that beating the information out of him would have been a much easier way to find out where to go, but then again, so was just revealing the game's storyline.

"Look, did they come through here or not?" Zidane asked, growing impatient.

"You will be quiet in these sacred halls!" the bishop continued to yell. As a small crowd of people gathered around us, it became increasingly apparent that he wasn't going to tell us anything. The followers that huddled in the doorways and corners looked on, frightened of the bishop's shouting and of the strange newcomers. There was nothing we could do about that, but there was something _I _could do about the bishop.

"And furthermore!" the bishop continued to rant.

"That's enough!" I barked over him. It stopped the bishop midsentence and made him give me a blank stare. However, I still needed him to spill the information on where to go, so I rushed him. I went straight for the collar and threw him back into the candle display behind him. The next thing he saw was an orange short sword pointing itself at his neck.

"Wh-what are you—"

"Shut up!" I shouted. "You're going to tell us what we need to know right now!"

"Trevor!" Zidane said in surprise. "What are you doing!"

"Hehe, I like where this is going," Amarant chuckled.

"Army of Black Mages," I told the bishop, getting him back on track. "They had a little girl with them. She's our friend. Tell us where they went or your followers will spend the next week getting rid of the old dead guy smell."

Murmurs surrounded the hall as the bishop's sheep looked on. I could outfight the bishop if he tried anything, but a mob of civilians would pose a much more serious threat. It was too late to diffuse the situation. I had to wrap it up before it got too serious.

"I don't know what you're after!" the bishop shouted. "But you will never be allowed into the Path of Souls! Your soul will twist and rot in the fiery nether!"

My eyes narrowed. I wanted to kill Zorn and Thorn and this fanatical asshole was getting in my way. "I really hate people like you."

With a quick flip of my short sword, I stabbed him in the arm. It wasn't terribly deep, but it hurt, and more importantly, it scared the hell out of him. He shrank back, now that he knew what I was capable of.

"Trevor!" Zidane yelled. "What the hell?"

But I ignored him for the moment. "Tell me," I said in a harsh whisper, pressing the short sword against the bishop's vulnerable stomach next.

"They were here!" he finally gave in. "They came through several hours ago. I—I believe one of them had a little girl in his arms."

"And there was a man with long white hair with them?"

"Yes, yes! He came in first with a triangular stone in hand!"

"Good. Now which way did they go?"

"That way!" he said, pointing around the corner. "Towards the volcano!"

"Good." I dropped the bishop to one side and sheathed my short sword. "Just remember that you could have made this a lot easier on yourself."

The bishop clutched his arm in pain as three of his followers ran to his side. They cowered before me and tried their best to stay out of my way.

"Um, alright," Zidane said after a pause. "I guess we'll be going. Sorry about the trouble."

He took the lead down the next hallway towards Mt. Gulug. The rest of us followed him, but I could sense the others' apprehension about me. I knew my actions were harsh, but we were running out of time. Even as strong as she was, Eiko wouldn't last in the chamber alone, even if the Black Mages changed their minds about Kuja and tried to save her. That madman could kill her at a moment's notice.

I wandered my way at the back of the group, aware that I was now on shaky ground with all of them, but it was all for the best. Like they say, the means justify the end, right?

"Trevor?" Vivi asked, walking in the back of the group with me.

"What's up dude?" I asked.

"I know you're worried about Eiko, but that was… pretty mean."

I wanted to sneer down at him, at snap, but this was Vivi we were talking about. How could I be mean to him? "You think so?" I asked him after a while.

"Yeah," Vivi said in all his innocence. "I mean, he was a jerk, but you didn't have to act like that."

"Yes I did," I shot back. "We needed that info and he wasn't about to give it to us otherwise. My way just gave us the opening we needed."

I looked down at Vivi, only to see his sad little face. He never did have a taste for violence, even when it was necessary. Still, I knew I was justified in my actions. The bishop was little more than an arrogant cult leader. He led people into delusion and stood idly by, probably even welcoming Kuja into his city.

I was doing everything right. I had to be.

XXXXXXXX

It was less than an hour's walk to the volcano, but the closer we got, the warmer it became. Eventually, I didn't even notice the cold air. When we got to the entrance, I took a quick note of the Gulug stone we had stolen, hanging in an ancient lock. It was probably another forgotten artifact from the previously failed conversion between Terra and Gaia.

Inside, everything was dimly lit. Old torches had been lit once again, most likely by the Black Mages as they marched through. A path cut its way through the darkness. The cavernous insides of the volcano were one open cave with paths lining down in a spiral, but it went too deep to see the center of the cavern. Ancient houses and building lined the path as well. I remembered some obscure notes about a race of mole-people living inside Mt Gulug from the game, but it only seemed like a lame excuse to have architecture inside a volcano.

"Why would Kuja bring Eiko here?" Zidane asked. "There's nothing but old ruined houses."

"There could be something here we don't know about," Steiner said. "He is a man of mystery."

"More like a monster," Quina put in.

"Wait!" Freya called out suddenly. "Did anyone else see that?"

"See what?" Zidane asked.

"Wait here," she said. With little effort, she launched herself onto the top of a nearby building. We watched her scout the area ahead and in the center of the crater. I squinted to look down, but there were too many ridges in the way. After a moment, Freya waved us over.

"There's some strange light coming from the crater at the lowest level," she said. "I can't make out what it is from here."

"That has to be Kuja!" Zidane realized. "We need to get down there now!"

"I can jump down there the fastest," Freya said. "Just let me—"

A loud, long creak of wood cut her off midsentence. Dozens of cracks resounded in the echoing chamber seconds before the house Freya had been standing on collapsed underneath her. Her reflexes kicked in and she was able to jump away at only the last moment, landing hard next to the rest of us, but the noise certainly alerted everything nearby of our presence.

"Are you alright?" Vivi asked.

"I'm fine," Freya said, dusting herself off.

"Not for long," Amarant said, looking the other way. "Your screw up just cost us the element of surprise. Look!"

Although Kuja was the larger threat in this volcano, he wasn't the only inhabitant. A swarm of red dragons soared through the air. Even in the low light, they looked like they were made of lava, glowing and very dangerous. Right now, three of them had heard the crash of the building and were heading right for us.

"This… could complicate things," I muttered.

"We have to get rid of them!" Zidane said. "Split into groups and gang up on them!"

"No, we don't have time!" Freya argued. "I'll stay back and deal with them."

"I was aching for a decent fight anyway," Amarant smirked. He cracked his knuckles before putting his gauntlets on.

"Aya! I stay too!" Quina said, hopping excitedly. "They look yummy!"

"Fine," Zidane sighed. "Just be careful! We'll be back with Eiko and help you as soon as we can!"

"See you at the bottom," Freya grinned, brandishing her polearm.

"Let's go guys!" Zidane called to the rest of us.

Although the collapsed house blocked one way, it bridged down to the next tier in the volcano, giving us a way to continue. Kuja had already been down there, torturing Eiko for almost an hour already. I had to hope that she was alright and that he hadn't extracted her eidolons yet…

XXXXXXXX

Kuja's plans, though otherwise perfect, were flawed only in the incompetent fools he employed. As he watched from the side, Zorn and Thorn chanted the incantation, channeling the powers. Eiko lay unconscious inside a triangular rune, exactly like the one that lay at the bottom level of Alexandria Castle. It was one of two in the entire world. His entire plan led to this point and required this very rune to succeed.

Now if only the jester twins would do their tasks properly!

"Eidolon of eternal life!" Zorn chanted.

"Eidolon of infinite powers!" Thorn sang.

"Arise from thy eternal slumber!"

"Depart after thy endless wait!"

"The time has come!"

"The time is now!"

Sparks flew as magic soared through the rune and into Eiko's body. Ancient Terran magic threatened to rip the eidolons bound within her out of her body. The magic encircled Eiko's small frame, bringing the entire area to a bright glow. The magic seemed to work at first, but when the light faded, no summoning jewels lay on the floor.

The spell had failed.

"That was odd," Zorn noted.

"Odd, that was," Thorn agreed.

"We failed again!"

"Again, we have failed!"

"Did you make some mistake?"

"Make mistake, I did not! Yours, the mistake must be!"

"I made no mistake at all!"

"The truth, do you speak?"

"Of course, I speak the truth!"

"Will you two shut up!" Kuja yelled, growing impatient of the jesters' idiocy and failure.

"I-It's his fault!" Zorn insisted.

"H-His fault, it is!" Thorn countered.

"I said SHUT UP!" Kuja yelled again. "I don't want to hear excuses! I sense power from her. Continue the extraction."

"Continuing further will endanger the subject's life," Zorn pointed out.

"Only at the age of sixteen can the eidolons be extracted," Thorn said.

Kuja's eyes narrowed. "You two just don't get it. I need an eidolon more powerful than Alexander! An eidolon with the power to bury Garland! His powers are so incredible; I cannot even come close. I must destroy him Terra's plan is activated, or my soul will no longer be my own. Who cares if the girl lives? I need that eidolon!"

As Kuja turned his back on the jesters, they turned back to Eiko to begin chanting again. However, as they got close, something moved from within Eiko's dress. A sharp chirp made the twins take a step back, before Mog the moogle hopped out of Eiko's dress.

"Where did that come from?" Zorn asked.

"You, get out of our way!" Thorn ordered.

However, Mog refused to budge. When the jesters stepped forward, she launched herself forward, flying around them and chirping rapidly.

"Master!" the jesters called out as they retreated.

"Well?" Kuja asked, not quite expecting results.

"Her pet moogle is interfering with the extraction process!" Zorn said.

"Certain we are that it caused the failure!" Thorn agreed.

"Kill the runt!" Kuja ordered angrily. "We're running out of time!" He left the ordeal to the jesters so he could attend to other matters and exited the chamber.

Though the jesters were indeed stronger than her, Mog turned her back on them and hugged herself against Eiko's forehead. She would do everything to protect her friend, even risk death at the bottom of this volcano.

"Kupo…" Mog chirped sadly.

"Mog…?" Eiko said, opening her eyes. "No, Mog… Hide behind me."

But rather than listen, Mog began floating in the air, though without using her wings. She was perfectly angelic, holding her short arms out and at a 'T'.

"Mog?" Eiko said, waking up now. "What is it?"

But a voice echoed in Eiko's head. It was Mog's voice, and it was the first time she had ever said anything more than 'kupo'. "_Eiko, thank you for everything_."

"Mog?" Eiko said, shocked that Mog was really talking. "What are you saying?"

"_Don't worry Eiko_," Mog said. Small orbs of light started to gather, collecting in Mog's fur. She positively glowed. "_I will always be with you_…"

XXXXXXXX

"This has got to be it!" Zidane shouted as we rounded another corner. The old tunnels were lined with creaking wood like in a mineshaft, but it didn't look like it could support anything heavier than a table. The rock had settled around the wood long enough that it wouldn't collapse. That's what I hoped at least.

"Where is it?" Steiner yelled. "Could we have taken a wrong turn?"

"This was the only way to go!" I said. "Just go with it!"

"I think I heard something!" Zidane said, increasing his pace. "This way!"

We rounded the final corner to the center and lowest circle of the crater, but just as we saw Eiko laying on the ground before us, a bright light flashed, blinding us for a moment.

"MOG!" Eiko shouted.

There was a crashing sound, like a dozen mirrors falling to pieces in front of us. I had to blink several times to clear the overwhelming light from my eyes, but when I could see again, I saw Mog…. or, what had once been Mog, standing besides Eiko.

Madeen, the Celestial Eidolon, towered over all of us. Standing at least ten feet tall, she made Zorn and Thorn seem as threatening as cockroaches. She had the head and body of a humanoid lion, complete with a flowing mane and wide bat wings. And her control over spatial forces were not t be taken lightly.

Madeen launched her attack at once. The ground exploded at Zorn and Thorn's feet, launching them and several chunks of rock into the air. Once airborne, Madeen's claws glowed with bright light. Soon, several rings collected around the jester twins in a sphere, forming loops of latitude and longitude. They squeezed together until there was almost no space inside them. When there was so little room that anyone would become claustrophobic, the light rings exploded, throwing Zorn and Thorn straight into the ground. They hit so hard that they cratered several inches into the igneous rock.

Zorn and Thorn remained motionless. With the immediate harm removed, Madeen began to shimmer and disappear.

"Mog?" Eiko shouted as her friend disintegrated.

"_I wanted to be by your side, Eiko… so I became Mog,_" Madeen explained telepathically. "_Don't worry, I'll always watch over you._"

"Mog…" Eiko muttered sadly.

"Eiko!" Zidane shouted, snapping the rest out of the stupor we entered by watching the amazing display. We rushed into the room. Zidane and I went to the jester twins to make sure they were down while the others went to Eiko's side to make sure she was safe.

"Eiko, are you alright?" Vivi asked.

"I'm alright," she said. "Mog… She saved me… I never knew Mog was an eidolon. She always looked after me, disguised as a moogle. Even though… even though she was weak… She fought her best to protect me."

"So that's what happened," Zidane said.

Dagger, who was still mute from the disaster in Alexandria, walked over to a long pink ribbon she saw laying on the ground. She turned it over in her hands and brought it to Eiko.

"Mog's ribbon!" Eiko said. "Mog…"

"It's alright Eiko," Zidane reassured her. "Mog'll always watch over you."

Eiko finally managed a small smile and nodded. "You're right," she said.

Meanwhile, I had other things on my mind. Kuja should have been back by now to transform Zorn and Thorn. I couldn't do anything to fight them while Madeen was around, so when they revived, it was supposed to be my turn to fight. I was going to be the one who got to kill them. But now, they weren't even breathing.

"Where is he?" I muttered.

"Huh? Who?" Zidane asked.

"Kuja! He should be here!"

"Yeah, Trevor's right!" Vivi said, completely missing my implication. "We need to get him before he can hurt anyone else."

Although I knew Vivi was right, I had a terrible sense of dissonance. "But that's… These two should be alive!"

I reached down and grabbed Zorn by the collar, lifting him up like the lightweight that he was. "You shouldn't be dead yet! Combine you bastards!"

"Whoa, Trevor!" Zidane said, trying to calm me down. He put a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.

"I KNOW what I'm talking about!" I shouted. I turned back to Zorn, shaking him like an etch-a-sketch. "Combine so I can kill you, you freaks!"

But instead, Zorn's head fell to one side. I had seen things like this plenty of times in my journey around Gaia to know that he was already dead. There was nothing I could do to kill him. That bitch Madeen beat me to it.

"God damn you!" I yelled. In my anger, I threw Zorn to the ground, crashing him into his brother. The both of them lay in each other's tangled arms. Zorn's neck looked broken from me throwing him into his brother.

I was earning a hard look of confusion from the others. Zidane was the first to ask, "Trevor, what the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing," was all I felt like saying. "Just forget it."

This was great. Everyone thought I was a freak, I had to deal with some brain-dead cultists earlier, and now I couldn't kill Zorn or Thorn. Someone owed me big for all this crap. The only way things could get worse would be if—

"That moogle went into a Trance?"

I could almost hear Kuja's theme playing as he strode back into the room. He kept his distance, but brought a hand to his chin like he was studying us.

"Kuja!" Zidane yelled. He jumped ahead, taking point to protect the rest of us.

"So… an eruption of anger against one's surroundings induces a complete Trance," Kuja mused, now speaking as if we weren't even there. "It's not the will to live, nor is it the desire to protect another."

"Man, you're really goin' off!" Zidane said. "What are you talking about?"

But Kuja continued to ignore him. "That means… I simply need a powerful soul, even if that soul is not my own." Kuja's eyes lit up as if he had discovered something. "Yes… and it can be found there! Ahahaha!"

My best guess was that he was talking about Terra. With the Invincible currently under Garland's control, Kuja would have to travel to Terra to retrieve it. With its soul cannon, the Invincible could extract souls from the lifestream until he found one that would give him the power to Trance, blowing his power out of proportion by one hundred fold.

And for some reason, part of me wanted to fight him when he became that strong.

"Kuja, what are you plotting?" Zidane shouted.

"I am done with you," Kuja said, finally acknowledging us. However, just as quickly, he turned around and started to leave.

"W-Wait a minute!" Vivi shouted. He broke from the group, and leapt over the jester twins to chase Kuja down, but he barely cleared their corpses before Kuja reacted with a force field. It knocked Vivi back on top of the bodies.

"Master Vivi!" Steiner called in concern.

"Don't worry," Kuja smirked. "I hear these twins put on quite a show. Of course, they're not really twins at all…"

With his last cryptic quip, Kuja turned and left again, leaving permanently this time.

"Wait!" Vivi demanded again. "What about the black mages?"

When Kuja walked through the tunnel on the far side of the room, Vivi snapped. He broke into a run and exited after the villainous madman. His devotion to the other black mages was certainly admirable, despite how suicidal his actions may have been.

"Vivi, don't go!" Zidane shouted. "It's too dangerous!"

But the little black mage was already out of sight. Calling for him was pointless. The only way we could stop him was to drag him out ourselves, but even then, he would probably fight us the entire way back to the ship, using his magic against us if it meant helping the other black mages.

"We have to go after him!" Zidane shouted. He started to wards the door after Vivi, but I instead watched the twins. Just as Zidane reached their corpses, they shook, as if they were trying to stand up. My eyes lit up excitedly, now that I could see they were active again. I drew both short swords and held myself in position. It would be no fun if I killed them before they transformed.

"Something's wrong!" Eiko shouted. "What are they doing?"

"I thought we beat them already!" Zidane shouted. "Eiko, Dagger, get back!"

Zidane, Steiner and I grouped around the jesters as they slowly stood, moving like they were on low doses of tranquillizers. They were back-to-back one moment, then their skin began to melt together. It overwhelmed them and multiplied, growing like the world's fastest cancer. Soon, they were completely consumed in a pink and purple flesh suit that flowed underneath them like a ball gown, combining the two of them in a seven-foot tall monstrosity with two heads. They had large flippers now instead of hands and a large gem at the center of their newly formed chest. The only thing that looked the same from their original bodies were their heads, and even then, it was still covered in the same pink/purple flesh.

They had become Meltigemini, their ultimate fate and my chance to finally kill them.

But Zidane seemed to have a different strategy in mind. "Eiko, can you summon Mog again?"

"I can try!" she said.

"NO!" I shouted. "Back off! They're MINE!"

Zidane barely had time to turn his head when I leapt into action. "Trevor? Wait!"

But I was already moving. I wanted to land the killing blow before one of the others could get a lucky shot in. My anger powered my Demon Sabers faster than I could process. All I knew was that I could cut through anything and that I was aiming for their necks.

Unfortunately, Zorn and Thorn received an upgrade with their new body. Their speed and reflexes were far sharper than they were before. I didn't even get close when he/they slapped me away with a fin. I was knocked into the air, spinning out of control. The world became a blur as the room tumbled around me. The next thing I knew was the sharp pain in my back when I landed. Meltigemini brought one of two clawed tendrils out from his torso and used it to "catch" me. He then tossed me aside so he could deal with the others.

The pain wasn't so bad, but the shock from the attack left me wheezing on the floor. I had to watch the others fight until I could move my body properly. All the while, I felt the rage and hatred building up in my chest. I had to kill something, and soon, before Zidane and the others defeated Meltigemini or before the fleshy bastard could hit me again.

My fears came to life when I saw Eiko chanting something into her flute. While Zidane danced around the monster and Steiner kept the twins at bay with his superior defense, Eiko was preparing to summon Madeen again. If she did that, then she had a chance to kill them both. And if Dagger got the same idea and followed suit, then I had no chance to kill anything today.

"**Kill the bishop instead?**" Damien suggested, probably while reading my thoughts. I pushed the idea out though, not ready to kill someone obnoxious over someone evil.

Eiko kept Mog's ribbon tied around the end of her flute. More than just a memento, it would allow her to summon Madeen every time she played her instrument. I struggled to regain control of my arms and crawled my way towards her to stop her.

"Mog, I need you!" Eiko called, then began playing her flute. I made my way slowly to her, but I knew there was no chance I would make it in time.

Suddenly, Meltigemini started laughing. "You never let me take your eidolons," he said, using both heads to take in a bizarre harmony. "What makes you think I'll let you use them now?"

The fleshy monster took a breath in, held it for a moment, then breathed out quickly in what sounded like a large belch. A green cloud of gas floated towards Eiko and splashed her, getting her wet in the stinking assault. More than just a disgusting move, I recognized it as the viral attack that Meltigemini could use from the game. He confirmed my suspicion when he began laughing.

"Now you're carrying the virus," his heads said. "Just try to move. You'll see it's impossible!"

Indeed, Eiko seemed wracked in pain. She was reduced to a coughing fit and started rolling around on the floor. Dagger ran to Eiko's side and tried to cast her healing spells, but because she was still mute, she couldn't get the incantations off properly. Her white magic sputtered and died.

"You too!" Meltigemini said, staring at Dagger. He took another deep breath in and prepared to deliver the virus.

"NO!" Steiner yelled, in the most frightened voice I had heard him use in a while. "Your highness!"

Just as the toxic air left Meltigemini, the brave knight ran in front of Dagger, absorbing the attack himself. He collapsed next to Eiko and started coughing as well.

In only a few minutes, our fighting forces went from six to three, and two of them were basically useless. Dagger was mute and I was pretty sure I had spinal damage. If we didn't do something, and quickly, none of us were going to make it out of this alive.

Meltigemini knew this too. He threw his heads back for a moment and laughed at our misfortune. However, that was all the distraction we needed. Zidane, the only able-bodied one left, got in underneath Meltigemini's defenses and managed to cut his two front tendrils open. The thick tentacles fell to the ground and started bleeding copiously.

The fleshy bastard's dual screams gave me some satisfaction, but I would have had more if I had caused him the pain. Still, the excitement gave me the energy to finally stand again.

"Trevor, come on!" Zidane called back to me. "I need your help here!"

My body was back to normal, but my mind was still feeling sluggish. Otherwise, I would have told Zidane to turn around. Instead, Meltigemini was able to catch Zidane off guard and slapped him with a fin, hard. The blond thief tumbled head over heels across the room, skidding the last few feet. He was bleeding from the impact and didn't move for a moment.

I had the jesters all to myself now.

I grinned a wicked grin, one that felt like it reached both of my ears. My heart beat like a teenager walking through the Playboy mansion. I had been waiting for this moment for the last several days. I knew it wouldn't last long, so I tried to savor the moment as much as I could.

"Ah, princess…" Meltigemini said after a moment. Dagger looked up from Eiko's and Steiner's sides, shocked that the monster would try to come after her next.

"How long did I serve you?" he asked, mocking her. "Ten years? Ever since we plucked you from that boat out of your dead mothers' arms. You were such a whining suckling pig, always demanding to get your way, using my old forms however you wanted."

Dagger was too sweet an innocent to push anyway around. Zorn and Thorn's minds must have been twisted when they combined, or perhaps they had a bastardized view of the world from the start. Either way, he was going after Dagger next.

"**He's going after the queen,**" Damien noted as well. "**This is good. While he's distracted, you can sneak up behind him and destroy him.**"

It was true. Dagger would make a perfect target for Meltigemini to take his anger out on. And with her voice lost and her magic useless, she wouldn't be able to provide any resistance, giving me the best chance to—

Dagger looked at me, frightened and useless. She knew she was helpless and needed me to survive now. Who knew where Freya, Amarant and Quina were? I was the only thing that could keep her alive, and we both knew it. My friend needed me.

_No, wait…_ I began to realize. _I can't use Dagger as a distraction, she needs me…_

"**She betrayed you!**" Damien was quick to point out. "**They all did! They talk about you behind your back!**"

_But… But I haven't seen her do it. And she's mute! She couldn't possibly—_

"**You think that would stop her from **_**thinking**_** it? She's as bad as the others! Use her!**"

_No… I can't…_

I was angry. I wanted to kill things and I wanted to beat the hell out of Freya when I got the chance for starting these conflicting emotions, but I couldn't go and use one of the closest things I had to a friend, could I? What would that make me?

"I will end this painfully for you," Meltigemini said, slowly approaching Dagger. He took a deep breath in and readied his virus. "Hold still."

"Demon freak!"

The twins were distracted just long enough to save Dagger. I flew through the air, short swords ready to take off each head. However, the toxic attack was still primed and I failed to take it into consideration. So much for a valiant save. Meltigemini breathed it in my face as I got close, forcing me to lock up and fall to the ground, just as his feet.

"Your group really likes to sacrifice for each other, doesn't it?" the twins taunted. He stomped on my back, pinning me, even while I was infected. The pain of moving was far worse that I could have thought. Lightning shocked every cell in my body, leaving me useless, like the others. "You caring fools will never get anywhere like that!"

For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was Freya. It sounded like he was comparing me to her, and that just pissed me off further. I owed this bastard payback for my humiliation days ago when they first kidnapped Eiko. I knew that event changed everything. Damien was right. I deserved my revenge.

And I would have it.

"Don't you fucking dare…" I struggled to say through a coughing fit and a tightening throat. "…compare me to the others…"

In an instant, I brought one short sword up, powered with a weak Demon Saber. It wasn't much of an attack, but a single swing was still enough to shred his leg off. Meltigemini screamed in pain and fell flat on his back. The blood from his leg sprayed me, coating me in a thin layer of the stuff. I had to hope that his blood wasn't toxic too, or else I'd really be screwed over.

Even though my attack was successful, there wasn't much more that I could do. The toxins sent jolts of paint through my body, forcing me to scream and flail around on the floor, causing even more pain. It was a vicious cycle. Even so, if I didn't do something soon, Meltigemini might recover just enough to finish us off.

"**Your revenge is close!**" Damien shouted at me. "**Take him down!**"

_I can't move!_ I blurted back as best I could, but it was hard to concentrate through the agony.

"**Then I will help you! Let your rage push you forward! Fight through the pain! I will help you, my friend!**"

Although I hardly trusted Damien, he seemed to make sense. I let my anger grow to the point that I could see red, and not just from the open leg wound still spilling blood everywhere. I pulled myself onto my hands and knees and the pain somehow became manageable. It seemed like the times when Kaiten and I traded control over body parts so we could accomplish our tasks while the other underwent the agony. If Damien was doing that for me, then could I really trust him? Was he looking out for me?

As I crawled on top of Meltigemini's body, I realized how little I cared. I dragged a single short sword with me, digging it into his skin to pull myself forward. Each knick brought a new shiver of anguish. I crawled and crawled until I reached the monster's neck. All four of his eyes stared up at me for a moment until I brought the sword down on his neck, severing one of the heads.

"No, not now!" the remaining head tried to defend. "It's not supposed to be like this! I finally got my full power back!"

"You…" I muttered. I still had some pain in my body, but it was nothing I couldn't deal with. "Fucking die!"

I brought my short sword down with both hands, striking the remaining head with the crossguard rather than the blade. It gave a satisfying crack and broke through his cheekbone. I loved the sensation and relished it. Meltigemini screamed and struggled underneath me, as I brought the short sword up for another attack.

Blow after blow after blow crashed into his skull. It was fulfilling for me. It soon became a kind of sexual release thrusting the crossguard harder and deeper into his skull. After a while, the motion became routine and automatic. I no longer had to think about it.

Minutes passed. I lost track of time and didn't know how long I was on top of Meltigemini. I even started to black out and lose sight of the image.

The next thing I knew was me pulling back and preparing to swing down again, but something grabbed my wrists. I snapped out of my trance and looked around. Zidane was hold onto me and pulled my short sword away.

"Trevor!' he screamed in my face. "I said snap out of it!"

His face was red, like he had been screaming for a while. He must have been looking for a chance to get in close while I had been attacking Meltigemini.

I looked around the room. All the others were back with us. Freya was giving me a disappointing look, as always. Amarant and Quina were with her, though neither of them seemed as in a foul mood. Eiko and Steiner were on their feet again. Apparently, with Meltigemini distracted, she had been able to concentrate and cure them of the virus. Vivi was still missing though, but I suspected he was sitting with the other black mages after they found out that Kuja had been lying and using them purely for his own gains. He never could extend their lives and they were beating themselves up for falling for his tricks.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zidane asked, backing away from me a little.

"Huh? I just got angry," I said, though my voice was weak and tired, like I had just woken up. I felt like I had, because I didn't expect what I saw when I looked down.

Meltigemini's remaining head was now gone, having been smashed away by my crossguard. Chunks of bone, brain and even some teeth were caught in my hands. Some unidentifiable parts lay scattered on the floor. The most solid pieces of tissue that I could find were now beaten into a paste.

The view horrified me so much that I practically leapt off the body. How long had I been attacking him? What the hell happened to me?

My stomach felt queasy and I buried my head in my hands to keep myself from throwing up, as well as to block the sight before me. I wasn't even sure how I had managed to do all that without being aware of it.

_Dear god…_ I thought to myself. _What am I becoming?_

XXXXXXXX

I know, I know… I suck. XP

For the first time since I started my regularly scheduled monthly updates, I've missed my deadline. I guess that after almost two years of constant writing that it's inevitable to update late a few times. Even so, I feel bad about missing the mark by four days. XP

I'll try to update on time next month, and I'll even try to update an ATE or two, if it'll sate your anger against my tardiness. XP

Once again, my bad.

-Krim


	13. War Room Briefing

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: Well, I made some interesting discoveries while writing this chapter. It turns out the boat the World Heroes were using was the Blue Narciss, not the Blue Narcissus as I've apparently been using. That mistake has been changed for this chapter.

Also, Cid's airship series was the Hilda Garde, not Hilde Garde. I didn't bother changing that since I've already typed it out a thousands times (and it's not much of a difference anyway. And I'm lazy :P).

Other than that though, everything should check out. Enjoy! XD

Chapter 13- War Room Briefing

XXXXXXXX

Shame wasn't the right word to describe how I felt. Embarrassment? Anger? Anger was always the right word to describe me these days. Right now I just sat against the wall of the small room. Meltigemini's corpse—what was left of it—was stinking up the middle of the room. Zidane and the others were deciding what to do next.

Vivi had come back briefly. He told us that Kuja had gotten away and that the black mages had all been lied to. Even worse, they knew Kuja was lying to them, but they all feared death so much that they went along with him just in case he really could extend their lives. Vivi had gone off to sit with them for the time being, to try to help them heal. Realistically, it was all the little mage could do for his brethren.

Zidane had ordered everyone else o stand down and wait while Vivi went off. We would wait until he felt comfortable to leave. Now we just had to find a way to get them back to their village as well. The Blue Narciss could only take a handful of them at a time.

"_Trevor,_" came a voice I hadn't heard in a while.

_What do you want?_ I asked him. He sounded like he wanted to lecture me and I was in no mood for it.

"_Geez, where'd that come from?_" Kaiten asked. "_I've been trying to get through to you for the last few hours. Something's been blocking me_."

_Blocking you? What are you talking about?_

"_Do you remember the red wall I showed you in here?_

_Yeah? Is it doing something?_

"_Well, it's not growing anymore, but it is moving. It shifts around from time to time. I think it's what was blocking me. It must have moved just enough so that I can contact you again."_

_Have you found out what it is yet?_

"_No idea. Sometimes it's all I can do to keep from being overwhelmed by it. It's almost like it's sentient._"

A muffled voice came from a small doorway across the room. Zidane, Dagger, Steiner and Eiko went to check it out while the rest of us waited outside. I remembered that the queen of Lindblum had been held hostage by Kuja. He must have kidnapped her at some point after she fled Lindblum when she found out about Cid cheating on her. That explained how Kuja got his hands on the Hilde Garde I.

I didn't bother following. I saw no reason to see another cutscene that I probably couldn't add anything to.

"_What about your end?_" Kaiten asked, returning us to our original conversation. "_Did anything happen recently? Anything unusual?"_

I had to think for a moment. Kaiten was probably my closest friend on Gaia and the one I trusted most, but what would happen if I told him about Damien? I would probably get yelled at for keeping him a secret as long as I have. No one knew how hard I had been working not only on saving the world, but keeping my sanity.

For some reason, something within me told me to be silent.

_Aside from you being unusually quiet? No, nothing._

"_Alright. Just let me know if something happens. The sooner we find out what this red wall is, the sooner we can get rid of it._"

_Right._

I lifted my head up when I heard a door slam. Zidane was walking out with a woman in a long white dress. It looked like a Victorian era dress, complete with frills every which way and a headdress adorned in gold. It was obviously Hilde and even Regent Cid was cradled in her arms.

"Guys! This is Queen Hilda of Lindblum," Zidane introduced. "It turns out Kuja was kidnapping her and happened to abandon her in the room over there."

"Great," Amarant said, not meaning any of it. "Can we leave now? There's nothing left to fight here."

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Zidane agreed. "We should get back to Lindblum so we can decide our next move."

XXXXXXXX

I kept to myself as much as I could as we left Esto Gaza behind us. I just wanted to get back to the ship, find a bunk, and pass out. I had too many thoughts swimming in my head.

What if I had changed the storyline too much? What if Damien was right? What if I never got to Terra? What would happen if the others found out I was lying? What would happen if Kaiten found out I was lying? What if everything came crashing in my face? What would I do then? Most importantly, what the hell was wrong with me?

I couldn't let the others or Kaiten find out what I was going through. This was my problem to bear, and I would stand against it alone.

"Hey," Eiko suddenly chirped. "Is that a fire out there?"

"It looks like it," Freya agreed. "I think I can see the townspeople in the distance by it."

"But the city is back there," Vivi said. "Why would they be out here making a fire?"

And that's when I realized, "Hey, isn't that where we anchored the boat?"

Everyone seemed to stop mid-step. The sudden horror of the situation gripped at us as we saw our only way home go up in flames.

"Blank!" Zidane shouted, as he realized that we left our pilot back on the ship.

"I'm here," came a weak voice. Blank was walking up the hill towards us, holding a bloody wound on his side while covered with burns all over.

"Blank! What happened?" Zidane asked, running over to grab his old friend. "Are you alright?"

"Hold on," Eiko said. She played a short tune on her flute, and soon a white light spread around Blank. It lasted only a moment, but the Cura spell washed away his burns and the gash in his side.

"Much better," Blank said, picking himself up. "Those guys over there came running out here with torches. Some tall guy in gold clothing told them to burn the ship. He kept screaming something about heretics. I tried to stop them, but the set the ship on fire with me on it. They would have killed me if I hadn't jumped overboard."

Suddenly, I wanted to shrink back into the shadows. I didn't dare turn to look, but I could already feel the others staring daggers at me. I screwed up in attacking the bishop. Now that damn cult leader was destroying our ship. He committed the first wrong! I was fully justified in acting like I did against him!

"Well, now what?" Zidane asked. "We don't have a way to Lindblum anymore."

"You worry about that," I said, drawing my short swords. "I'll take care of these assholes."

I started down the mountain with a pair of Demon Sabers extending out of each blade. They glowed brilliantly, reflecting my burning hatred of these damn arrogant cultists. With their blind conviction and sheep-like personalities, none of them deserved to be spared. Then we could tear down Esto Gaza and use its remains to build a new boat. This plan was perfect.

"Trevor, wait!" Zidane shouted, stepping in front of me. "What the hell are you doing?"

I thought my intentions were clear enough. "I'm going to take bloody massacring revenge on these freaks, what else?"

"You're what? Trevor, that's murder!"

"You mean like what they just tried to do to Blank?" I pointed out plainly. "Besides, these guys are an isolated village and the only people on this entire continent. No one will miss them."

"How can you say that! Are you insane?"

"Probably. I do hear voices after all."

My humorous take on a real situation didn't hit Zidane at all. In fact, he seemed more offended by it than anything else. I just pushed by him and continued downhill.

"Trevor, stop!" came Cid's authoritarian voice. He hopped in front of me and stood with his arms raised, which was hard to take seriously since he was still morphed as a frog. "As the leader of Lindblum, I cannot allow you to take action against the people of this city. Stand down!"

If he were in his human form, Cid might have looked somewhat imposing. As he was now though, I could have punted him like a football. He meant nothing to me and was just getting in the way of my revenge. It's not like I was being selfish though. I was doing this for everyone, especially Blank who nearly got murdered! Why did they have such a hard time seeing that?

"Look, I'll kill them," I said, speaking calmly like I was talking about what to have for dinner. "You guys can go back to the city and find a way home for us. Maybe they have a boat or something."

"I said stand down!" Cid repeated. "By my authority as Regent, I'm ordering you to leave these people alone!"

Although I tried to maintain a calm exterior, I was quickly getting fed up with Cid. I reached down and grabbed him by the neck. Given his diminutive size, I didn't have a problem picking him up entirely.

"Get out of my way," was all I said before I threw him over my shoulder. I heard him land hard, but I was too focused on the cultists ahead of me. Perhaps too focused though, because the next thing I heard was a suit of armor crashing behind me before there was a knock against the back of my head, and as I fell, I knew that I was probably going to regret all of this.

I was unconscious moments later.

XXXXXXXX

When I woke up, I was in a small room. It was dark, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I was on a bed in a room the size of a storage closet. Odd as it was, the whole thing seemed strangely familiar.

I could hear an engine in the background somewhere. Had we found a new boat? Did we steal one from those assholes in Esto Gaza? Not likely, I decided. I wasn't going to find any answers in here, so I patted the walls down until I found the door and stepped outside.

The hallway was bright with a nice blue carpet. I was greeted by a row of windows overlooking the ocean. I looked out and could see the very end of the Lost Continent. I was on an airship, but where could we have gotten one that flew without mist?

The Hilde Garde I.

It seemed so obvious now. I slapped my forehead when I realized that I hadn't thought of it sooner. We never saw the airship in the game after Mt. Gulug, so Kuja must have gotten rid of it somewhere on the Lost Continent and just rode his silver dragon back to his palace. It made sense because how else were we going to get the black mages off of the continent?

Speaking of which, I was surprised to see one walking towards me in the hallway. He smiled, in the way that only black mages could smile.

"You're awake," the black mage said. "You're… Trevor, right?"

"Uh, yeah," I said. "Any idea what happened to me?"

"I'm Mr. 124," the black mage said, extending a hand. "It's nice to meet you."

I shook Mr. 124's hand limply. "Right. How did I get knocked out?"

"Um… Oh yeah!" he suddenly remembered. "The man in the heavy suit hit you with the back of his sword. I think his name was Stan Err, or something like that."

"Stan Err?" I repeated. "You mean Steiner?"

"That's it!" Mr. 124 said happily. "You were on a rampage and he knocked you out. That's what they told me when we found them. The other black mages and I were going to use this airship to return home, but when we saw your boat on fire, we thought we would stop and help you. Call it our way of saying sorry for helping Kuja."

"Right," I said again. So this was it. My actions had real consequences. I fucked up our chances of getting back to Lindblum and only sheer dumb luck saved us in the end.

The others were going to be pissed off at me. I might have just done myself in with this trip alone. I was letting my anger get control of me, but that was only because it was getting harder and harder to tell what was right and wrong. Everything I had done was for the greater good, but no one else could see that. And now because of it, they would probably try to kick me out of the group and stop me from going to Terra.

I couldn't let that happen.

"By the way," Mr. 124 asked me. "What's a 'rampage'?"

I just looked at him for a moment. "Nothing. I'm going back to bed."

I was going to need plenty of rest and space from the others before I had to see them again in Lindblum.

XXXXXXXX

Our first stop was at the Black Mage Village, to drop off the black mages. I stayed in my closet of a room, forced to listen to the cheery 'goodbye's and 'thank you's. I wanted to be out there, amongst the celebration, but I chose isolation. The longer I was away from the others, the more time they had to forgive me.

Our next stop was Lindblum. I took my time getting off the airship after we docked. I didn't want to see the others in my shame, or run into any other problems. I had to stay on their good sides, at least until we got to Terra.

I tried my best, but I didn't get much rest our first night. I spent my night in the Business District inn. The other all spent their night in the castle as guests of Regent Cid. They could have their comfy beds in what was probably the only undamaged building in the entire city. My room still had a bulge in the wall from another building crashing into it. The room next to mine didn't even have a roof. Still, the inn had to make money to pay for the repairs, so they didn't complain when I signed in.

When I stepped out of the inn in the morning, there was a messenger from the castle looking for me. He presented me with a message from the Regent, telling me that I was being summoned to the castle for an important meeting. I was more surprised that they would bother to invite me since I was sure they would kick me out of the group of heroes.

Either way, I made my way to the castle using one of the remaining air cabs. I arrived just in time for the meeting, but since I was the only one staying in town, I was the last one to show up. Well, almost the last one.

"Where's Zidane?" I asked.

"I think he's still sleeping," Vivi answered. "We just sent someone to get him a little while ago."

Just then, in a moment of comedic timing, Zidane opened the doors and walked into the room. He took a spot around the meeting table opposite Regent Cid.

"Hey guys," Zidane greeted, taking a seat. "Who's that guy?"

He was pointing at Cid, back to his human self. Hilda had reversed the curse she put on him, and he sat before us, revealing his old self, complete with his wide, grey mustache. He wore a long red cape, matching with the rest of his regal getup. It was weird seeing him as human after I had seen him as a bug and a frog for so long.

"It's Regent Cid," Freya answered.

"WHAAAAT?"

Cid looked down from his throne disapprovingly at Zidane. "Still haven't learned any manners, rib—" There was an awkward pause as Cid cleared his throat. "Still haven't learned any manners, have you?"

"You can stop the frog-talk now," Zidane said, leaning back in his chair. If he tried to relax any more, he would have put his feet up on the table.

"S-silence! Ribbit."

"…Oh well," Zidane shrugged.

Regent Cid just sat back in his chair, trying to regain his royal composure. "Ugh… I didn't gather you all to talk about that."

Queen Hilda was standing by Cid's side. She rose from the smaller seat beside her husband and stood with her hands folded in front of herself. "I called this meeting to tell you about what I have learned while in Kuja's captivity."

"It may provide a hint about where he might be," Cid told us. "Listen carefully."

Before the meeting could get started though, Steiner looked around, finally realizing something at long last. The room was crowded enough though that I couldn't really blame him. "…I don't see the princess," he said. "I will go look for her."

"I must dismiss myself as well," Cid said, standing from his throne. "I must begin constructing the Hilde Garde III. We shall use the Blue Narcissus as inspiration for its hull. I would have preferred to use the ship itself in the construction, but there's no helping that now. And when it's complete, it will be the fastest, most advanced airship in the world!"

Cid walked out with a grin, just after Steiner, who clanked with each step. As soon as they were gone, I relaxed in my own seat, slouching badly. I looked over and saw Zidane in a similar posture. We traded looks and got a quick laugh out of it.

"So? What did Kuja discuss with you?" Zidane asked as soon as Cid closed the door behind himself.

Hilda nodded, taking her spot at the head of the table. "Some of the parts of this story may be hard to believe, but please hear me out." Hilda took a deep breath, planning out exactly how to phrase her words. Knowing what she did, I couldn't blame her for the pause. "…Kuja plans to use this world as a means of acquiring an even greater power."

"Greater power?" Zidane asked. "What would he do with it?"

"I don't know," Hilda said grimly. "He indicated that he wasn't originally from this world…"

Everyone in the room gasped. I faked a gasp so that I wouldn't stand out, but my heart did start beating when she spoke those words. For a moment, it was like she was talking about me. I had to check to make sure no one was looking at me, then returned to listening when everyone else had settled down.

"What?" Eiko shouted in a high-pitched squeal.

"We call our world Gaia," Hilda said. "But he called his birthplace Terra."

"Terra?" Freya remembered. "Could it be the same place that we heard mentioned in Oeilvert?"

"Couldn't be," Amarant said. "That place was ancient. How would they know about Terra when we don't? It should be common knowledge if it were true."

I wanted to say something, to contribute or to show off what I knew, but I knew that revealing too much was too great a risk. I simply stayed quiet as the others debated what this information could mean. It was the only way I could keep my secret safe. Just a little longer though, and I could reveal everything. I could finally get this terrible weight off of my shoulders…

"Whatever the case," Hilda continued. "This Terra seemed to be connected with a place called the Shimmering Isle."

"That's the island just off of the coast from Esto Gaza," I piped in.

"How do you know that?" Freya asked. It seemed that everything I did made her question my motives. She glared at me, as if expecting to trip me up, but I was ready for her.

"I heard that cult leader say something about it," I snapped back.

"Was that before or after they set our boat on fire?"

"Bite me rat-girl."

"That's enough, both of you!" Zidane shouted. He slammed his hands into the table to silence us. "We have to worry about Kuja, we shouldn't worry about you two going at each others' throats!"

"Right…" Freya said, swallowing her pride. I just turned away and sank deeper into my chair.

"Now we don't know where Kuja went," Zidane said. "But maybe we could find him if we go to the Shimmering Isle."

Hilde frowned and shook her head. "Unfortunately, we can't get directly to Terra from the Shimmering Isle."

"Of course you can't," Amarant said. "Everyone would've discovered this 'other world' by now if it were that easy."

"So, what do we do?" Zidane asked.

"I'll tell you…" Hilda said. "The gateway that connects the two worlds is sealed, but Kuja said there is a place where that seal can be broken. He said it was in an old castle located in the northern area of the Forgotten Continent. Fortunately, an explorer left a record of his trip to this particular castle. If I remember correctly, he said that the cliffs surrounding it were too steep to explore. Other than that, very little is known about the Forgotten Continent. Since it doesn't have a name that we know of, let's call it Ipsen's Castle."

"Ipsen's Castle, huh?" Zidane thought. "That could work."

Ipsen was the famed explorer who crossed oceans for the sake of discovery. Zidane talked with Dagger about them before when we first came to Madain Sari. I always wished he had gotten more attention somehow, or that there was more info to be found of him at least.

"Yeah, we really don't know that much of our world beyond our own continent," Zidane said. "So our next target should be this castle?"

"That's all I heard," Hilda nodded. "You might find a clue if you go to Ipsen's Castle."

"Did you ask Kuja about any of this?" Eiko asked.

"These are all things he discussed voluntarily," Hilda explained. "He became very impassioned when he spoke, and he volunteered information without even my asking. He probably thought that telling me his grand scheme wouldn't affect the outcome."

"He's right," Amarant smirked. "His power is great and we're at a real disadvantage."

"I can't forgive Kuja!" Vivi shouted. "He toyed with my friends' lives!"

"Now we know where we need to go," Zidane nodded. "The problem is getting there."

"We should wait until Cid finishes his new airship," I said.

"Why can't we take the Hilde Garde I?" Eiko asked.

"Because Cid is dismantling parts of it to reuse in his third airship," Hilda explained. "It's much easier to reuse the engine rather than build one from fresh material."

"Such is life," I muttered. "Are we done here?"

"Yes," Hilda nodded. "That is all the information I have for you. You are dismissed."

"Good," Zidane said, stretching as he stood. "Now we just need to find Dagger so we can—"

"Zidane!" Steiner yelled, crashing back into the room. He was out of breath and I could smell the grinding rust of his armor. He had obviously spent a lot of time running around town. "I bring troubling news!"

"What?" Zidane asked. "What now?"

"I cannot find the princess!" Steiner revealed. "I've searched all over Lindblum! The members of Tantalus aided me in my search, but…"

Zidane's features drooped in concern. "She's not in Lindblum?" He folded his arms in thought for a moment. "Then there's only one place…"

Steiner gave him a confused look. "Do you know where she is?"

"I think so." Zidane faced the rest of us as we were rising from our seats. We were all ready to help find Dagger, but Zidane, in his confidence, was sure he could do it alone. "You guys wait here in Lindblum. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Zidane ran out of the room quickly. I knew he was heading for Gargant Roo so he could find Dagger in Alexandria. She had gone to visit her mother's grave. After all the stress she had seen in the Lost Continent, she needed the reassurance of her mother.

Zidane and Dagger could have their little moment together. As for me, I was more interested in when the Hilde Garde III would be finished. The sooner it was done, the sooner I could go to Terra. I would find that bastard Hart Innural and I would rip his heart right out of his chest and make him take a big bite out of it.

With the airship still days away from completion, the others still looking at me funny, and with nothing else to do, I decided to go to the only place I could think of to go.

"It sounds like you've been dealing with too much stress," Dante said, leaning in the corner of Wayne's Synthesis Shop. His side was still heavily bandaged and poked through his blue shirt. "You just need a chance to relax, like me."

"That's all you've been doing lately," Wayne griped. He pounded a piece of iron into shape right beside the smelter. "I should be charging you rent to stay here, or at least force you to work!"

Since the Industrial District, which was where Dante used to live, was still under construction, Wayne was gracious enough to let the brunette engineer move in. Still, it seemed all Dante did now was eat and plot new ways to improve on his gun models.

"Sorry Wayne," Dante smiled. "Doctor's orders. I can't do physical labor or my stitches might tear open."

"You mean those haven't healed yet? How long has it been?"

"Hey, do you know a white mage? Because I sure don't."

"I know two," I said, enjoying the frivolous conversation. It was better than talking about saving the world like I usually had to. Much more stress free. "Of course, one of them is mute now, and I don't think the other one would be willing to do me a favor at the moment."

"There," Dante said. "No hard labor for me, but hey, I don't mind designing weapons for you."

"Right, that's hard," Wayne said, rolling his eyes.

"Speaking of which," Dante said. "Trevor, did you ever get that weapons dealer? What was his name again?"

"Kuja," I answered. "And no. We tracked him to the Lost Continent, but he got away."

"Got away again? Man, you suck at this."

"It's not my fault! He summoned a diseased Siamese clown demon on us."

"Wait, what?"

I leaned back in my chair and ran my hands over my face. "Sometimes I wonder just how far I can really go with all this."

"It's not easy, saving the world," Dante said, pretending to be philosophical. I could tell that he didn't really take my line about saving the world seriously though.

"Yeah, but someone has to do it," Wayne said. "And since you're useless and I have a job, I guess it falls to Trevor to get it done."

"Very cute," I said. I liked having these guys to talk to. They didn't know the depths I had fallen to, or the hardships I really endured, but most importantly, they didn't know how badly my recent judgments had been. They only knew me as the guy who fought with them to the castle the night Alexandria invaded, not as the guy who smashed a clown's face into pudding in a blind rage.

That was the type of friend I needed right now.

"So, how long are you in town this time?" Dante asked. "We barely got to see you last time before you shipped out."

"I'll probably be around for a few days," I said. "Regent Cid has to finish building his new airship, and Queen Dagger… I mean, Queen Garnet is missing."

"She's missing?" Wayne asked. "Again?"

"Sort of," I said. "She ran off to Alexandria, but we don't know more than that. Zidane's out looking for her now."

"So what's your next plan?" Dante asked. "It seems like you've been going off to all these neat new places. How many other continents have you been to so far? Two?"

"Three," I corrected. "And our next stop is this place called Ipsen's Castle. It's supposed to be in the northern parts of the Forgotten Continent. Apparently, there's something containing a portal to another planet there."

"Another planet?" Dante asked. "Damn, I want to go! Why do you get to have all the, ow… ow, ow, ow…"

"Dante, you alright?" I asked.

"Stitches pulling on my skin," he said. "I'm fine, it just hurts."

"I think you just answered why you can't go," Wayne said. "Now draw up some new plans or something. You owe me for free room and board."

XXXXXXXX

It was another week until the Hilde Garde III was finished. Dante, Wayne and I spent some quality time together, and it was like a small vacation for me. Even Damien stopped talking to me. Kaiten and I got some training done in my subconscious, working around the red wall. However, I didn't see any of the other World Heroes in that time. The distance was probably for the best anyway. If time healed all wounds, then maybe they would forgive me a little, or at least stop thinking about all my recent mistakes.

A messenger from the castle came to the Synth Shop on the day of its completion, telling me that Cid was ordering me to climb aboard. The others and I met up in the docking bay of the Grand Castle. Once again, I was the last one to show up to the party, minus Zidane and Dagger, who I assumed we were going to pick up in Alexandria.

"Hey guys," I said awkwardly. "How's it going?"

"Hey Trevor," Vivi said. He seemed like the only one glad to see me. "Where've you been for the last week?"

"Hanging out with some local friends," I said. "Hope you guys weren't too bored without me."

"We were fine," Freya said, crossing her arms. It was just the reaction I expected out of her.

"Don't worry about her," Vivi said, breaking away from the group to join me. "She's been in a bad mood lately. I think she's just tense about this new castle we're going to."

"Aya, Trevor!" Quina said approaching us. "Where you been? You miss all the yummy food in the castle!"

"Uh, sorry Quina," I said, honestly surprised that he was talking to me. "I guess I needed a vacation."

"I hope you are feeling better," Steiner said, folding his arms but still joining our growing group.

"I'm fine," I said. "I had a pretty bad headache for a while after you hit me, but I'm doing alright now."

"I'm sorry about that," Steiner said. "But you had to be stopped."

"I know, I know. Don't worry about it."

"So, when's Zidane going to be here?" Vivi asked.

"Aya! I not see him for long time either," Quina added.

"I spoke to the regent," Steiner said. "Beatrix sent word that the thief and the princess are in Alexandria. We are to meet them in the Red Rose's docking bay."

"And then we're going to Ipsen's castle, huh?" I asked. "This'll be some trip."

As I finished my thought, the massive new airship roared to life. The engine was set in the back and pushed a pair of steamboat rotors on the sides for stability, as well as half a dozen propellers throughout the rest of the ship. Three large propellers in particular sprouted off of the back and were the ship's main source of propulsion. It looked like an oddly shaped boat attached to an oddly shaped balloon, but it still came across with some flair. It was truly deserving of its position as the flagship to Cid's fleet.

We were hustled onto the main deck, all of us in awe of its size and apparent power. I was getting jittery myself just at seeing it in real life. I had been getting used to seeing the video game unfold around me, but there were still aspects that kept me excited and on my toes. If the Hilde Garde III could do this though, I wondered what Memoria would be like.

By the time we reached Alexandria, we had all found our places to hang out on the ship. I decided to stay in the cabin, along with Eiko and Steiner. The front window reached all the way from the floor to the ceiling. The steering and airship controls were all on a raised platform while charts, monitors and navigation were all along the window in front of the controls.

I just liked the view.

There was a sudden gasp from Eiko when the door to the room opened. Zidane and Dagger walked in just as the airship lifted off from Alexandria's docking station. However, two things were different about Dagger now.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What happened?" Eiko shouted as she ran to Dagger. "What happened to your hair?"

I turned and saw Dagger for only a moment, because I had to turn back as soon as I saw her. She had cut her hair, and now it only reached her shoulders.

She looked exactly like Nicole.

More than just a dead ringer, if Dagger's voice was just a little higher, I would have sworn that she was the real Nicole, transported to Gaia like I had been. It still hurt to see her, so I tried to avoid her while the others fawned over her.

"P-P-Princess!" Steiner shouted as well. "What have you done?"

"I know!" Eiko said. "Zidane broke your heart, didn't he? How dare he—"

"Is that true?" Steiner asked, grabbing Zidane by the collar.

"Whoa, hold on," Zidane said, escaping Steiner's grasp. "Don't jump to conclusions!"

"Zidane's right Eiko," Dagger said.

There was a sudden hush around the room, as everyone realized the good news.

"Dagger!" Eiko said. "You can talk again?"

"Yes," Dagger said, smiling to everyone around the room. "I'm sorry I made you all worry."

"It's ok," Eiko said. "But your hair was so beautiful."

Dagger's shoulders slump gently in the reflection of the front window. I quickly glanced down at the passing landscape below. "Short hair doesn't suit me?"

"Oh no, you look great!"

"Of course she does," Zidane said. "Trevor, don't you think so?"

I still couldn't look at Dagger without feeling heartbreak. I just kept staring out the window and simply replied, "She's very cute."

"Don't you want to join us over here?" Zidane asked.

I knew that the more I saw Dagger, the more t would hurt. "No, I'm fine over here."

There was an awkward silence from the group behind me. I could feel the entire room staring at me, arms folded as I tried desperately to ignore them all. However, before I could escape down to the lower decks, Zidane called out.

"Trevor," he said. "Can I talk to you in private?"

I sighed, not really desiring a fight at the moment. Still, things had been improving. Maybe Zidane just had Intel that he wanted to share with me. "Yeah, sure," I said. I walked out of the room, right behind Zidane. I let my hair cover my eyes, but kept my gaze on the floor anyway. I walked passed Dagger, pretending that she was still the same person she had always been, long hair and all.

When we reached the hallway, Zidane shut the door, leaving us alone with hissing pipes exposed overhead and a narrow, wooden walkway underfoot. The airship reminded me of the Serenity. _Firefly_ needed to go on for at least another few dozen seasons.

"Trevor, are you feeling alright?" Zidane asked. He had a harsh glint in his eye.

"I'm fine," I said. For the first time in a long time, I was telling the truth when someone asked me that question. "Why do you ask?"

"You say that, but I'm not sure it's true," Zidane said. He kept a subtle, but strong stance, as if he expected me to attack him. "We both know you've been getting worse lately."

"I've been doing fine," I said, getting pissed off. The accusation didn't put me in the best of moods. "Thanks for believing in me though. Really helps out buddy."

"Trevor, something's wrong with you," Zidane sighed, shaking his head. "I think you should stay behind in Lindblum or Alexandria. You can help with the reconstruction."

"Oh, so I stay behind while the rest of you get to play hero? I don't think so." I was getting pretty agitated of everyone questioning me without even trying to understand me.

"I'm just thinking of the last mission we went on," Zidane reminded me. "Remember Mt. Gulug? You were going to murder all those people and you attacked Regent Cid."

"You want me to say I'm sorry for that? Fine, I'm sorry, but he was pissing me off."

"EVERYTHING pisses you off these days. What happened to you? You used to be all about optimism and trying your hardest for everyone else's sake. Now we're lucky if we get to see you smile at all."

"I started fighting and got a realistic view of the world." I was getting sick of this conversation and just wanted to hang out in the cabin. Maybe the view would calm me down again. "Move."

However, not only did Zidane solidify his stance, blocking me from the room and the others, but he drew a dagger and held it defensively. "Trevor, you're not safe to be around. You could snap and attack any of us at any time. I'm sorry, but you have to stay behind."

My eyes narrowed at his petty attempt to intimidate me. The weariness in his voice told me enough that he didn't really want to duel me. Unfortunately, he had ruined my good mood.

"You think you can tell me what to do?" I demanded, drawing both of my short swords. "I'm older than you. I'm stronger than you. I know what to do to save the world. By all rights, I should be leading the team!"

"Trevor, please…" Zidane begged. "Don't make me fight you."

My grip tightened around both weapons and I sneered. "C'mon. I've been wondering which of us is stronger for a while."


	14. The Inverted Castle

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: Heavy testing at work, some parties with friends, I'm moving soon, and I'm still desperately single, yet I still manage to finish this by the 9th. Damn, dedication is a good thing, isn't it? XD

Chapter 14: The Inverted Castle

XXXXXXXX

Blade crashed against blade as Zidane struggled to defend himself.

"What are you doing?" he yelled to me. "It doesn't have to be like this!"

"BE QUIET!" I shouted back, leaning into another charge. I came in low, bringing a blade up while its twin crashed down from above. Zidane blocked both easily, then leapt back, avoiding my attacks like he had a hundred times already.

"How does this help?" Zidane tried to reason. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"I'm just trying to prove that I'm alright!" I said, holding my position for the moment. "Every time I have a bad day or I'm in a bad mood, everyone questions me, like I'm about to have a nervous breakdown! You think I'm weak, don't you?"

"What? No one thinks that! We're only concerned because—"

"And Freya's the worst! Spreading lies and rumors about me! I've seen how she looks at me!"

Zidane gave me a look of pure confusion. "Freya hasn't said a damn thing about you," he explained. "Sure, she's mad at you, but she's been ignoring you. It's what she does when she's pissed off!"

"YOU'RE LYING!" I shouted, swinging my blades wildly until one of them embedded itself into the wall. I didn't bother pulling it out and instead held my one remaining sword in my right hand. "I KNOW what I've heard! She's been talking about me BEHIND MY BACK! You're covering for her because she's your friend!"

"But you're my friend too!" Zidane said, lowering his defenses slightly, as if to show that he trusted me. I didn't buy the ruse and gripped my remaining blade tighter. "We're worried about you and you won't tell us what's wrong!"

"Then trust me when I say I can't tell you, dammit!" I said. "It would mess everything up and add to more questions!"

"More questions?" Zidane asked. "How? What's happened to you?"

That was it. "That's enough!" I shouted. "I said, don't question me!"

I rushed in for the next attack. I had dealt with enough that I needed to tell the others not to mess with me. Zidane was taken off guard and I could tell he didn't have time to mount a defense, but before I reached him, I had to skid to a stop. I backed off, just in time to avoid being skewered by a spear thrown in my face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Freya shouted.

"This doesn't concern you!" I said.

"Freya, stop," Zidane said, coming to my defense for reasons I didn't understand. "We were just talking and it got out of hand. Please, put your spear down."

"And let him charge again?" Freya asked. "I prefer to stay safe."

"Like a spear would stop me," I muttered.

"Trevor!" Zidane scolded.

"What is going on here!" Regent Cid shouted as he came into the hall. He looked a lot more intimidating as a human. He stood taller than me and his mustache and expression made him look like a scarier version of Joseph Stalin. He took out look at our exposed weapons and knew what was happening.

"There will be no fighting aboard my ship!" Cid commanded. "What was this about?"

"Trevor attacked Zidane!" Freya said. "We've got to get rid of him before he does it again!"

"Zidane was talking about leaving me behind instead of helping find Kuja," I explained. I could only hope Cid was a reasonable man. He looked from each of us, one after the other, then spoke again after a moment.

"Zidane?" he asked. "What's your take on this?"

Zidane put his daggers away and folded his arms. "I just thought we could use someone like Trevor in Alexandria or Lindblum to help with the reconstruction. I mean, he could probably cut construction time down by half."

Cid took a moment to consider his options. Lindblum and Alexandria were still a long way off until they were repaired, and my unique magic would really help in deconstruction. But I would fight if I had to. If they kicked me off the mission now, there would be no way for me to get to Terra. I had to get there to make sense of everything that happened to me. I was too close…

"Very well," Cid said finally. "Zidane, we need every bit of help we can get. Kuja is strong. We don't know how strong he is exactly, or what he's planning. Trevor will stay with us."

I gave a sigh of relief. At least Cid wasn't being an ass.

"But Trevor," Cid said sternly. "This is my ship. If you cause another disruption or attack anyone else, I will kick you off and we'll just have to fend for ourselves. Do you understand?"

I knew when I was cornered. If I continued making a fuss now, Cid would kick me off. I had no choice but to comply. At least he was letting me stay.

"Fine," I said. "I assume we all get bunkrooms?"

"Yes," Cid said. "Down the hall."

"Thanks," I said, turning by back on everyone. "I'm going to rest now. Wake me up when we get to Ipsen's castle."

I didn't bother listening for their responses. Zidane had been the one voice I had hoped would always back me up. Without him, I was on my own. Who else did I have on my side? Vivi? He didn't have any pull. I was walking a razor thin line, and this time, if I screwed up, I didn't have a safety net to fall back on.

XXXXXXXX

It took us four days to cross the ocean on Cid's new ship. Odd looking as it was, the thing was amazing. It was easily the fastest ship in the world, and since every other ship remaining was powered by mist, it was the only airship still flying.

I spent the days awkwardly wandering around, avoiding everyone else. If I could just make it to Terra, everything could be explained. I might even be able to tell them about Earth, if they could believe me. I was so close to Terra that I could already feel Innural's neck in my grasp, begging for air.

It was midday when we could see the valley in the distance. Long cliff sides surrounded what was basically a giant hole in the ground. At the western end of that hole though was a large castle surrounded by plains and a small forest. Another Terran structure left from the failed conversion of the planets.

Ipsen's castle.

We flew until the Hilda Garde III landed just outside the castle, but the closer we got, the weirder it looked. The top was crowned with several thin towers, like something you'd expect an evil witch to build in an old fairy tail. Gold plating adorned the tips of the towers, making me wonder how important this building once was to the Terrans. It looked somewhat religious in nature. However, the truly remarkable thing was that halfway down from the top, the building stretched out onto a large chunk of rock which looked like it had been plucked from the ground. Underneath the rock was a mirror image of the castle. Matching towers punctured the ground below. There was one central tower both on top and beneath of the castle, supporting most of the weight. One long, lone staircase led to the chunk of rock in between the mirror-imaged castles.

The whole thing was something out of a real estate agent's nightmare. Or an architect's wet dream. Either way, I was wary about going inside.

"I guess this is it," Zidane said as we all walked up towards the staircase. "What a weird looking place. It's like it's upside down or something."

We all branched out, looking at the thing. Even the crew from the airship disembarked with us to get a closer look. I was already used to the shape, but the colors were pretty, so I looked on like the rest of them.

"Alright," Zidane said after he had seen enough. "We probably won't need that many inside. I'll take three of you with me. The rest of you secure this spot in case there are any monsters nearby."

But before Zidane could speak, Amarant spoke up. "…Hey Zidane," he muttered, arms crossed and his scowl looking especially menacing today.

"What's up Amarant?" Zidane asked.

"I work alone," Amarant said. "Always have, always will."

Another cutscene. Amarant would say that working alone was better than working in a team and would run off to prove his point, racing to get to the end of the castle. Amarant never struck me as much of a character in the game and he certainly wasn't a friend now, so I didn't care what happened to him. Instead, I looked around the staircase, examining the structure, planning our route. If it was as difficult as the game made it out to be, then I would have to try out for the Olympics when I was done. That, or find another path through.

"What are you doing?"

I glanced to the side and saw Freya looking at me. Distrusting. Dishonest. How could Zidane defend her and claim she wasn't talking about me?

"Thinking," was all I said.

"About what?" She wasn't interested in what I had to say. She was trying to find out if I would stab her or anyone else in the back. Given her line of questioning, I was almost tempted to.

"If this place looks this weird out here, what's it look like inside?" I said. It was close enough to the truth anyway.

"Hmph, whatever," Freya muttered. She walked back to the rest of the group, just as Amarant started running up the massive staircase to the castle. If I could find a short cut, our path would be a lot easier, and we might be able to actually beat him to the Mirror Room, but that wasn't my biggest concern. I just wanted to get through this with or without him.

"Alright," Zidane said. "Vivi, Dagger and Steiner will go with me. The rest of you, stand guard out here."

"Zidane," Freya said sharply, beaconing him to one side. Zidane walked to her and the two of them had a brief private discussion. I didn't like the way Freya glanced at me more than once. I'd like to see Zidane say that she didn't talk about me now.

After a moment, Freya and Zidane turned back. "Change of plans," Zidane said. "Trevor, you're coming with me. Steiner, I need you to stay back with Freya."

"What?" Steiner yelled. "I cannot leave the princess unescorted!"

"I'll be fine," Dagger said. "And I'm the queen now. I'm not a princess anymore."

"But, I…" Steiner started to say, but he stopped himself. Dagger wasn't the helpless girl she once was. The eidolons she could summon were stronger than most of us anyway.

"Very well," Steiner said, defeated.

"Let's get a move on," Zidane said. "Whatever it is that can unlock our way to Terra, it's in here and we need to find it."

Dagger and Vivi started up the stairs after Zidane. I tried to follow, but Steiner grabbed me by the arm and held me back for a moment.

"Trevor," he said. "Please protect the princess where I cannot."

I looked down on him from the bottom of the staircase for a moment. Steiner originally thought I was just another thief like Zidane. I believe he used the word 'ragamuffin' on several occasions. And now he was asking me to do his job.

He trusted me. I had to repay that trust.

"With my life," I said stoically. The rusty knight took a sigh of relief and let go of my arm. I walked back up the staircase, thinking how good it felt to be trusted again. Such a simple expression and feeling made me happy.

I held onto my short swords and remembered the trick to fighting in this place. If I was going to keep Steiner's trust, protect the others and find the secret of Ipsen's Castle, I was going to need some new weapons.

XXXXXXXX

The inside of the front hall was large and glamorous. Or, it would have been, if it weren't covered in dust and crumbling from weathering and monsters. This place had once been some sort of temple, I imagined. Tall blue and gold striped pillars reached the top of a curved ceiling. I imagined that just below us, there was a room exactly like this one, just upside down. There was a platform just in front of us that we couldn't reach. I knew that if we could get up there, then we might be able to bash our way through to the mirror room.

"This place is huge!" Vivi said. "I wonder what it was built for?"

"Maybe a rich king?" Zidane guessed. "I robbed a guy who had a mansion like this once."

We stepped into the front hall where our path was divided two ways. One way was blocked by rubble. Part of the ceiling collapsed and took a lot of the wall with it. The other way had something else in the way though.

"What is that thing?" Dagger said after a gasp.

Down the other side of the hall was he corpse of a flying monster called a veteran. It was little more than enormous bat wings attacked to a flying eyeball with feel, but its eye had been gouged out, leaving a bloody pool around it and a hole in its head so gory even I didn't want to look at it.

"Amarant's been through here," Zidane said. "Come on, he has a head start on us."

Zidane led Vivi and Dagger down the next hall. Vivi and Dagger had magic on their side, so they would probably be alright, but Zidane and I were melee fighters. The magic cast over this place ensured that the stronger our weapons were, the weaker our attacks would be. Amarant would have to settle things his own way, but as long as he kept going after monsters with big squishy weaknesses covering half their body, he would be alright.

"Guys, wait up," I said, turning to a small plaque just under the balcony on the floor above. "There's something here."

"What is it?" Zidane asked.

I wiped away some dust, revealing a dark iron plate with raised lettering. I read it aloud. "Do not be restricted by your knowledge and experience. This place turns logic upside down. That which is big is small. That which is strong is weak. Heaven is earth."

There was a brief moment while the others considered the message. Vivi was the first to speak. "I don't get it."

"It's a riddle," Dagger said. "But what does it mean?"

"It could be like Oeilvert," I said. "It had an anti-magic seal on it. Maybe this place has something similar."

"That still doesn't tell us anything about the riddle," Zidane said. "Big is small? Strong is weak? I'm with Vivi on this. I don't get it."

Sometimes, it was painfully obvious that Zidane wasn't the brains of the party. It was because of this part of the game that I always kept the weakest weapons for all of my characters when I replayed. Sure, there was a moogle we could buy weak weapons from in the game, but could we find him here? And would he have any of those weapons on him?

"Whatever," Zidane said. "Let's just move on. We shouldn't linger in a place like this."

Dagger and Vivi agreed with him, and I reluctantly had to go with it. Even if they knew what it meant, there wasn't much we could do without any replacement weapons. I would just have to keep an eye out and hope we didn't run into anything too substantial.

The hallway led into a courtyard. There was a small skylight in the ceiling among the rafters, wide enough to allow natural light to flood the room. The room was dull and drab. Grey stones covered everything, whether it was the bricks on the walls or the cobbled floor. Several doors along the walls opened up into other rooms and hallways, but the thing that caught my attention was the long pole in the far corner. Amarant must have already gone down there, reaching into the upside down section of the castle.

I didn't want to do all that climbing. The ladders and poles we would have to deal with would kill my arms, not to mention what it would do to Dagger and Vivi. In some places, Ipsen's Castle was like something out of that show, Ninja Warrior. As much as I normally would have wanted to try my luck at a physical challenge like that, I wanted instead to get the mirrors out of this place and get to Terra.

Zidane was saying something to the others, but I was lost in my own little world and wasn't listening to him. However, a howl broke me out of my thoughts. A second later, a cerberus crashed into the courtyard from one of the windows on the next story up. It was a monstrously large demon dog, with enormous hands that carved deep into the stone floor. It only had one head, unlike its name suggested, but it was so big that it could have easily bitten us in half and still have plenty of room to chew.

"Back up!" Zidane yelled to Dagger and Vivi. "Trevor, flank it!"

"Got it!" I yelled, wondering how far I should go with all this acting. I knew our weapons were useless and I was putting us all in harm's way by not saying anything, but right now, I had to protect my cover. Getting to Terra by any means was all that mattered.

Dagger stood back and gripped her rod, ready to cast whatever healing spell she would have to. Vivi was already casting a fire spell. Zidane kept the monster distracted while I twirled my short swords by its side. They would do little more than bounce off of the dog's skin, but maybe my demon sabers could make a difference…

"Fira!" Vivi yelled. Zidane backed up as a pillar of fire grew underneath the cerberus, growing in width and height, overtaking the beast. For a moment, everything was silent, save for the crackling of the flames. It looked like an anti-climactic end to the battle, but when the fire cleared, the demon dog was still standing, injured now, but only slightly with some singes.

"Good job Vivi!" Zidane shouted as he rushed in. "Get another one ready!"

Zidane leapt into the cerberus' side, digging his daggers in deep and leaping on top of it. Although, instead of digging deep and cutting through the monster's flesh, Zidane barely scratched it. Sure, there were two fresh holes bleeding from the side, but on its massive body, they looked like little more than paper cuts. And the cerberus wasn't about to let Zidane ride him.

With a buck and a whip of its head, the demon dog crashed about. Zidane didn't have time to catch his footing and was sent flying, bouncing once before he slid to a stop.

"Zidane!" Dagger cried out in fear as she started casting a Cure spell.

But our concerns didn't end there. The monster turned to Zidane, fangs dripping with drool as it inches closer, ready to devour an easy meal.

With it's back turned to me, I figured I had an easy time attacking. I ran in, demon sabers stretching out of each blade. At the last second, I jumped, short swords over my head and ready to cut the dog's legs off. But that was my mistake. The cerberus heard me coming and kicked its feet up, nailing me in the stomach and throwing me all the way to the far wall. Even worse, the sudden blow knocked my short swords out of my hands. I didn't see where they landed as I rolled head over heels until my head smacked against the old rock. I had to fight tears back as a headache hit me so hard that I nearly blacked out.

It took me a moment to recover from my assault. My lungs and stomach burned from just trying to breath, but I was finally able to get back on my feet. I had to lead against a pillar to support myself though. But as I did, I saw something that wasn't in the game. Behind each pillar was a statue of a soldier, each wielding a metallic weapon. Perhaps these were in the game, but the camera angle made it impossible to see. Either way, I saw a chance at getting those downgraded weapons.

Most of the statues were long since destroyed, and their weapons missing, possibly by other explorers, or more likely by monsters going after shiny things. My heart soared though when I saw a thief statue ducking in the shadows with a pair of daggers in his hands.

Thinking quickly, I grabbed the daggers out of the decaying statue's hands, tearing them off at the wrists. The daggers themselves were just simple steel, but simple was what we needed right now thanks to the magic of this place.

The battle was still going on without me. Vivi let off another Fira while Zidane deflected swipes and blows from the monster, restored to his fighting glory thanks to Dagger's healing spells. Zidane used the edge of his daggers to deflect, but as I suspected, they did little against the cerberus' thick hide. I took a chance and wound up a pitch from where I stood.

"Zidane!" I shouted. "Catch!"

I tossed one dagger quickly, and then the next. The first blade bounced off the demon dog's head at the handle, doing little damage. I worried for a moment if these weapons were the real deal, until I the second blade flew in, slicing through flesh and muscle of the monster's arm like it was nothing. Zidane dropped his weapons, opting for the new pair. He quickly gathered them and dropped into his old fighting stance as the cerberus hesitated with a deep gash in its forearm.

Now that Zidane was taken care of, it was time for a pair of short swords for myself. I looked from statue to statue, but nothing they had stood out. One had a staff, but that wouldn't do me much good. Another had a shield, handy, but useless without a blade. One statue looked like a gallant knight holding a bastard sword, but his weapon was long gone, as were his arms. Stupid thieving monsters…

I had nearly given up hope on finding a new weapon until I came across the last statue in the row. My expression dropped when I saw what it was, but I needed a weapon with an edge, and technically, this qualified. I wasn't used to it, and I was never a fan of it, but it would have to do.

I yanked the statue's arms off, pulling the great axe free and into my lap. I cracked the remaining fingers off as best I could, but the handle was so big that it hardly made a difference. The metallic curve of each edge looked sharp enough to cleave a cow in half. Edge to edge, the axe had to be about as big as Vivi. As I tried to lift it onto my shoulder, I imagined that it was nearly twice as heavy as him.

"Zidane!" I called out as the agile thief dodged more attacks. "Bring it over this way!"

Zidane nodded and dodged with a roll. He managed to slip passed the cerberus and run towards me. The demon dog, enraged that his prey was getting away, pursued intently. He didn't even offer me a glance, even as Zidane ran right by me.

With the axe as heavy as it was, I couldn't hold it aloft like I could a broadsword, but I was still able to hoist it over my shoulder. If I could pivot it fast enough, I wouldn't even need to swing full speed. The monster's speed would act as the extra force I needed.

Zidane turned and skidded to a halt by one of the pillars, ready to dodge in case my next attack didn't work. Fortunately, the cerberus didn't see me as much of a threat thanks to its last kick to my gut, so it tried to pass me by without any confrontation. That was when I swung, aiming for its head. The heavy weight of the axe brought itself over my shoulder, swinging impossibly hard into the demon dog's flesh.

My aim was off, but only by a little. Instead of its face, I hit its neck, chopping deep into flesh and muscle almost like it wasn't there at all. I had seen surgical scalpels that were less sharp than this axe. The heavy metal was no match for the cerberus, and it was dead before it even realized that something had happened to it. Its head and neck hung free from most of the body, but still attached by only a thin membrane. It was a grotesque scene, but I had to admit, I liked it. I had killed this thing by myself in only a single blow.

I allowed myself a wide smile in my moment of commanding power.

"Nice job Trevor!" Zidane said. "How did you know that these weapons would work?"

"I took a guess," I said, pulling the axe free. It was too heavy to lift, so I had to drag it out. "That plaque earlier said 'That which is strong is weak'. I figured maybe it affected on our weapons or something."

"Well, it was cleaver either way," Dagger said, casting another Cure on both Zidane and myself. "But that axe seems a little heavy for you Trevor."

"Doesn't matter," I told her. "I didn't see any other weapons laying around." My comment reminded me of my fallen short swords and I walked over to sheath them.

"I think its cool!" Vivi said.

"Well, we should get going again," Zidane said, holding on to his new daggers. "We still have a whole castle to walk through before Amarant can beat us."

I thought again of the rest of the path that laid before us. Climbing it with only my short swords weighing me down was hard enough. I wouldn't be able to do it with this damned axe holding me down.

"Screw that!" I said. I didn't care about coherency or apparent logic at the moment. My impatience caught up and got the better of me. "I'm taking a short cut."

"Huh? A short cut?" Zidane asked. "Trevor, where are you going?"

I didn't answer him. Instead, I walked back the way we came. My axe dragged along the ground, screaming as it ground against the paved path. The others followed me, trying to get me to turn around and go "the correct way", but I ignored them. I didn't stop until I got to the platform in the first hall we entered. My shoulder felt like it was about to pop out of its socket, but I was still able to lift the axe up onto it. With a grunt, I swung into one of the pillars, smashing it utterly.

"What are you doing?" Zidane demanded.

"You might want to get back," I said, running as fast as I could with the axe behind me.

The second I was far enough, the platform collapsed, falling mostly in one solid piece. Most of the rubble collapsed underneath the fallen platform, giving us an incline to work with. It even looked shallow enough for me to drag my axe up, though I certainly wouldn't have minded a second pair of hands.

"There," I said, proud of my accomplishment. "Short cut."

"How do you know it's a short cut?" Zidane just had to ask. "Where does this lead?"

I had already started towards the platform, but turned and glared at Zidane. I had found a way for us to get out of here sooner _and_ beat Amarant, and he wanted to question me? He really made himself out to be an ingrate at times.

"Zidane," I said slowly. "Remember when I said don't question me? Keep that in mind."

"Trevor?" Dagger asked. "I want to know too. How do you know it's even safe up there?"

"I'll explain everything later," I said. "I just need to finish something before that. Just trust me and stay out of my way."

I earned confused and concerned looks from the others. They still followed me, but I had to drag my axe up the platform by myself.

XXXXXXXX

The short cut saved us an incredible amount of time and energy. The fallen platform led us up to a room with a crude elevator. The elevator ride took us up to a hidden room with a mural and several glowing green lines interconnecting throughout the floor, reaching all the way back to the mural. I looked down and saw the same triangular rune etched in green light that I had seen in other Terran buildings before. The mural itself was a simple drawing of Gaia, which made me wonder why a Terran structure would have a map of Gaia. It was probably a safety feature planted on the planet after the failed absorption between the planets so Terrans studying Gaia could return home.

That was what I thought anyway.

"This is… interesting," Zidane said as we all walked in.

I set my axe against the doorway as soon as we entered. I would need it in a moment, but there was no way in hell I was going to drag that thing around more than I needed to. I took the chance to rest my arms and leaned against the nearest wall.

"Is that a map of Gaia?" Dagger asked, approaching the mural.

"Careful!" Zidane told her. "We don't know what any of this does. They might be trapped."

"I was just looking," Dagger defended. "And look at these."

There were four irregularities embedded in the mural. They were dusty, but I could still see the reflective surfaces of four mirrors, each with rounded frames of their own color. What really mattered though, was their placement on the map. Each spot gave us our next clue on where to go next. I could only hope that Zidane or Dagger picked up on that before I had to give them another hint and another reason to suspect me of something.

"Mirrors, huh?" Zidane said, looking at them next to Dagger. He hesitantly reached out and tapped the one with the red frame. When no trap activated, he brushed some of the dust off of it.

"Well, I guess they're safe," Zidane said.

"Hey, look at this," Dagger said, standing on her toe tips to examine the mirror. "It says something on the bottom of the frame.

"Really?" Zidane asked. He brushed more dust off and leaned in as well, reading it so we could all hear. "…My power is protected high atop a fiery mountain."

"What does that mean?" Vivi asked.

"I… have no idea…"

Vivi grabbed the sides of his hat and pulled it lower. "This place confuses me," he pouted.

I rolled my eyes. Did I have to do everything around here? It was clearly a clue directing us to the fire shrine. "Fiery mountain sounds like a volcano," I hinted. "Like Mt Gulug."

"Right, that makes sense," Zidane said. "What about this one?"

Zidane grabbed the next few mirrors, taking them down from the wall as well. The green lights fades from the wall and the connecting lines on the floor, but that was all that happened. No traps or death screams came after us. The others were able to relax as Zidane read the other clues.

My power is protected underwater, surrounded by the earth. The water shrine.

My power is protected behind a tornado. The wind shrine.

My power is protected under the shaking ground. The earth shrine.

All of the mirrors were soon removed from the wall. Zidane and Dagger carried them our way, one in each hand. The green light had now completely faded from the room, leaving the Terran rune bare and now the only significant thing about the room.

"Well, looks like we got what we came for," Zidane said, stuffing the four mirrors carefully into a sack. "Let's go."

"What do you think the mirrors mean?" Dagger asked.

"I'm not sure, but like Lady Hilda said, those things on the wall might have something to do with the seal." He flipped the sack of mirrors onto his back with a huff. "Let's worry about that later though and just get out of here."

"It's funny," Vivi said as the three of them started to leave. "Normally when we do something like this, a big monster appears out of nowhere."

If we weren't about to fight for our lives, Vivi's point would have been downright funny.

A sudden voice boomed across the room, almost echoing in our heads. "M-mirror… Return… to me…" It was weak and gravelly, but deep, giving the voice an ominous feel. It was almost like Damien's voice, but more demanding and less compelling.

"Who's there?" Zidane asked, looking around desperately. Then from the mural behind us, a monster the size of a minivan summoned itself out of nowhere, just like Vivi said. I saw a thin line appear at first, which then expanded outward to the sides. An enormous bug, tan in color with a thick exoskeleton and four long, hairy claws, two on each side and one very large tail, floated before us. He let out a scream that sounded like a thin strip of sheet metal scraping across a chalkboard.

God I hated bugs.

"Energy flow… interrupted…" the giant bug grumbled. "Energy to… Terra… You dare get in the way of Terra's master plan…?"

"Wh-what is this?" Zidane muttered. He was as shocked as the rest of us. Dagger and Vivi matched his expression of revulsion at the sudden appearance of this monster. I just hated giant bugs.

"My name… is Taharka," the bug said. He spoke with a patient dignity, almost like how Soulcage spoke. "Return… my mirrors…"

"You should say please when you ask for things," Zidane said. At least his wit was recovering.

"Fool!" Taharka grumbled. "You will regret this."

Taharka let out another chalkboard scratching scream before jumping into the fray, striking at all four of us with each of his clawed arms. We all fell back as he flew above us, making the small room seem even more cramped. I didn't want to, but I grabbed my axe, hoping that I could corner him long enough to keep him still for a few blows.

Taharka finished his flyby and landed on the platform in front of the mural. He used all four of his clawed legs to hold himself up, making him look like something out of Tim Burton's nightmares.

"I got him!" Vivi yelled. Apparently, he had been charging an attack and was waiting for the right moment to cast it. He was becoming quite the little strategist. Before Taharka could move, the floor opened up and a pillar of flame consumed him. There was a short roar as the flame vent blew at its strongest. After a few seconds, it closed up and died down, but that was when we noticed something terribly out of place. Even though he had been surrounded by flames for as long as he had, Taharka had barely been singed. He shook a bit of ash from one of his arms, but that was all the damage we could see.

"Is that your best?" he mocked sullenly.

"Wha? But how…?" Vivi stuttered.

"I have been sworn to defend this castle," Taharka said with his grave tone. "You will not steal the mirrors and open the path to Terra."

"Sworn by who?" I shouted without thinking. I had assumed it was Garland, and nearly shouted his name as well, but I had enough to worry about the others already questioning me. I just bit my tongue and let Taharka pretend he had superiority over me.

"You would not understand, even if I told you," Taharka said. "Lay down your lives before I destroy you utterly."

"We need stronger magic!" Zidane said. "Dagger, do you still have that jewel I gave you in Alexandria?"

"Um, yes, right here," Dagger said, pulling it out of her pocket.

"Use it!"

While Zidane traveled to Alexandria to find Dagger after she went missing, Beatrix had given him a garnet to deliver to Dagger. It looked nice, but it held an incredible power. It was the very summoning stone that contained Bahamut, King of the Dragons.

Dagger quickly went to work, kneeling down and placing the stone against her healing rod as she tried to find the right incantation to summon the beast. However, she would need time, and that was something we didn't have much of. I dragged my axe and myself in between Dagger and the giant bug. Hopefully I made a more appealing target than her.

"Your greatest quality is your insignificance," Taharka mocked us again.

"I'm going to cut your head off," I threatened. I was getting tired of doing nothing. Even though my axe was hindering me, I still had a burning hatred for him deep within me. I lifted the axe onto my shoulder, momentarily falling off balance, then broke into a charge. I was going to cleave him in half one way or the other.

However, with my limited gait, I was telegraphing my moves very clearly. Taharka saw this and curled up into a defensive ball, tucking his arms and head inside while wrapping his tail underneath himself, leaving only the thickest armor exposed. Undeterred, I still swung my axe, but it was like trying to attack a concrete wall. The axe smashed harmlessly against him and sent strong vibrations into my arms. It hurt so much that it forced me to drop my weapon and fall to one knee.

Taharka laughed at my discomfort and added insult to injury, or rather, injury to more injury, and spun once, releasing his tail and swatting me away along with my axe. I bounced against the floor on the other side of the room with my axe grinding to a halt by my side.

"Trevor!" Zidane yelled. "Are you alright?"

"No!" I shouted back. The hatred was burning brighter than ever within my chest. "I'm fucking pissed off!"

But before I could go in for another charge, Dagger started to utter some words under her breath that I barely noticed.

"I think I got it," she said to herself. Standing proudly, she held the garnet against her rod and began chanting her new summon spell. "O beast of flare, King of the Dragons, come before me and char all before you to ash!"

"Get to cover!" Zidane shouted. We had all seen what Bahamut could do, so we knew that the room wasn't really large enough to escape unscathed. Still, in the short time, our best bet was to hide. Dagger, Vivi and Zidane all hid low by the doorway while I held the head of my axe in front of myself for cover.

It turned out that summoning Bahamut in the small room was far less impressive in real life than it was in the game. Because of how he came flying in from the atmosphere, I never got to see him. He held his position outside the castle, but we all knew Bahamut had arrived when his attack crashed through the ceiling.

Mega Flare, as his attack was called, was simply Bahamut's breath. A charged beam of light and heat, the attack held the same power as a sun. It was too bright to look at directly, but we could feel the heat even as far away as we were. Taharka let out his chalkboard scream as he was cooked within his shell.

With the heat, light, scream and smell of cooked bug in the air, nearly all of our senses were overwhelmed. I was so disoriented by the end of it that the only reason I knew it was safe to move again was when Zidane patted me on the shoulder, telling me to get up.

The attack from Bahamut had really left its mark. Almost the entire floor and far wall were scorched black with soot. The mural was long gone, suffering a dent in the wall as well as total discoloration. However, despite the devastation, Taharka was still standing, though not without injury. He had suffered a crack in his exoskeleton, burning his insides and leaving a spout of blood flowing out of him. His breathing was labored and he was clearly in pain. At least now he would be slower and easier to hit.

"You damned fools," he said slowly. "You don't know what powers you toy with."

"You're still not gonna stop us!" Zidane said, holding his new set of daggers offensively. He rushed in, but even with his gaping wound, Taharka was still dangerous. Zidane barely had time to get close when the bug unfolded himself and tail whipped Zidane. The thief went flying across the room and slammed into the far wall. Taharka finished up by casting Blizzaga on Zidane, encasing him in a large block of ice and trapping him within.

"Zidane!" Dagger cried out.

"Oh no!" Vivi said. He ran up to the ice cube and started pounding on the side.

This was only the second time I had seen Blizzaga used in this world, the first time being in the fight against the first Black Waltz. However, I was surprised when the pillar of ice didn't destroy itself. Normally, it should have shattered as soon as the casting was finished, but instead we were down one fighter.

And Taharka used to be such a simple boss.

"Dagger, stay back and get ready to heal Zidane," I said, taking charge. "Vivi, use your fire to melt the ice. Get Zidane out of there before he suffocates. I'll keep the bug busy."

"R-Right," Vivi said. He channeled the warm energy in his hands and pressed them against the ice. I could see Zidane's eyes darting around inside the ice cube. He was still conscious, and probably had only a minute of air left. Vivi had to work fast and I had to give him time to work.

"You!" I said, dragging my axe towards the bleeding bug. Dagger and Vivi were too busy worrying over Zidane to concentrate on me or anything I did, so I had a chance to freak Taharka out and keep his focus on me.

"You are outmatched," Taharka said as I neared. "Will you surrender before you perish?"

"Very cute," I said, coming almost within striking distance. I stayed a few feet away, just in case he tried to tail whip me as well. "Is that something Garland told you to say?"

Taharka's eyes popped out as best they could. He paused for a moment to recollect himself and shut his hanging jaw. "How do you know that name?"

"I know far more than I let on. Just don't tell the others, will you?"

"That name has never been breathed on this planet before. How do you know it?"

"Maybe he sent me," I goaded. "Maybe I'm supposed to access Terra along with my comrades."

"Impossible," Taharka said. "Garland would have come himself if others were seeking access."

I smiled. "Too bad. I was hoping to end this easily, but I guess you just want to die, don't you?"

I hoisted my axe up and made the final few steps to Taharka, but in my haste, I lost balance of the overly heavy axe. It fell behind me as I tried to carry it on my shoulder.

_God dammit!_ I shouted telepathically to the axe. _MOVE!_

The axe fell back, bending me backwards along with it and leaving me very exposed for the next attack. I tied to pick it up again, but I was too focused on dodging any potential attacks. Try as I might, I was too rushed and couldn't so much as lift it. I was starting to panic as Taharka looked for an opening, but I could also feel my rage building at my inability to fight. I felt helpless and weak.

"**You should destroy it**," came Damien's voice, prodding me, taunting me. "**Finish the damned bug, then destroy the axe. It dares defy you and deserves to be incinerated.**"

"Not now Damien!" I couldn't help but shout. As I spoke, I could feel the fury bubbling within me. It traveled into my axe like my chi normally flowed, but this was stronger. Self-hatred at my weakness mixed with hatred for Taharka and giant bugs, as well as my impatience of my team and my desire to get to Terra already. It was a dark, ugly energy that made me feel sick, but right now, it was the only weapon I had.

"You are a liar," Taharka finally concluded. "Garland would not send you without evidence. I do not know how you know his name, but it is irrelevant. You will die in this place."

"Useless fucking axe!" was all I could yell as I dragged it around uselessly on the ground. I tried to hold it as defensively as I could, but I knew it wasn't enough. I shut my eyes and waited for the impact that awaited me.

Strangely though, when I heard the attack come, I didn't feel any pain. I looked up and instead, saw Amarant of all people, holding Taharka by the claws and keeping him trapped in place. The blades of Taharka's arms cut into Amarant's arms, but it was a minor wound at best.

"See?" Amarant said, grunting against the crushing attack. "Teamwork does nothing!"

"We beat you here," I said, taking the chance to redouble my efforts. With Amarant keeping Taharka busy, I had a chance to pick up my damned axe again. I lifted one leg as a counterweight and hoisted it up over my shoulder. All the energy and hatred that had poured itself into the weapon soon came to life, spilling out of the blade and reforming the edges. Just like the extended blades of my demon sabers, this attack grew the size of the axe by three feet on each side with a dark, swirling energy without adding onto the weight.

Taharka could see the attack coming and swung his second pair of claws at Amarant. They dug deep into the bandit's sides, causing him to roar in pain. But, Amarant being the stubborn bastard that he was, didn't give up. Instead, he pinned both of those claws under his elbows, keeping them trapped inside him. Taharka tried to move, to retreat, to fly, but he simply could not free himself. He could only scoot Amarant forward inches at a time.

I prepared the next attack. Since I wasn't strong enough—a thought that only fueled more energy into the axe—I had to use centrifugal force. I turned my entire body, swinging the blade haphazardly at first. The weight pulled at my arms as I could barely hold on, but I still managed to swing at a downward angle. The edge flew over Amarant's head and into Taharka's chest, slicing away the arms and spilling his intestines onto the floor.

In pain, Taharka let out that same chalkboard-scratching scream. He fell forward as Amarant fell back into the center of the room, all four bug arms still in his grasp. I could ignore him for now and worry about finishing this fucking bug off before it could wriggle into a crawlspace or something.

I continued the arc, swinging the axe up and over my head. The enormity of it had grown so much that it cut into the walls without even slowing down.

Taharka looked up at me in his final moments and pleaded, "No, wait!"

I didn't have the patience to even ponder sparing him. He had delayed my revenge and was going to die.

The axe made its final turn, flying over my head and crashing straight down into Taharka's back. It crashed through his armored exoskeleton, then crashed through the floor after the attack split him in half. The axe broke a hole through the floor, and took Taharka down. Its weight was too much for me to bare, so I released it, sending it crashing against several walls and pillars below until the energy released itself in an instant. The resulting explosion shook our room and joined one last chalkboard scream.

As soon as the shaking stopped, so did the scream. And everything was dreadfully quiet again.

"Everyone alright?" I asked, despite the obvious.

Zidane had just had his head freed from the ice. His legs were still encased, but at least he wouldn't die this way. Amarant was still bleeding from his sides after removing the claws from himself, but Dagger was already charging up a Cura to fix that.

I scanned the room until I saw all that mattered, a small white sack by the doorway that contained the mirrors. I walked over and looked inside, seeing all four mirrors still intact. Good. The pathway was still secure.

"Trevor?" Zidane said with chattering teeth. "Where are you going?"

I pulled out a short sword and, using my anger from the last fight, charged up a demon saber, cutting Zidane free from his prison, save for a thin layer around his legs. I didn't exactly have surgical tools after all.

"Let's get moving," I said as everyone stirred. "We need to get to Terra. Now!"

XXXXXXXX

Does anyone else think that Harbinger's voice from Mass Effect 2 would make a good voice for Taharka?

I guess this chapter ended up a little longer than I expected. Still, it's nice to get one step closer to Terra, isn't it? It's probably another two chapters until they arrive, and I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting excited about it. XD

I know this wasn't my best chapter, but due to its size and my time constraints, I'm afraid that it'll have to do. I've been getting involved in a lot of meetings and work lately, as well as all the tests that they keep throwing at us.

Still, a long, chapter with ok quality is better than nothing, right?

…Right?


	15. Breaking the World Open

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author notes: Listen up readers! It's good news/bad news time! :D

The good news is that my career is going well. I just got a small promotion, and I get to lord it over the lazier coworkers that I have to put up with. Additionally, the second book in my novel series is going well as I've finished the storyboard, and even more exciting, I've finally, after two and a half years, finally come up with an awesome sport unique to the world I'm creating! Look out Quidditch! Here comes… well… I don't really have a name for it yet… But it should still be fun! :D

The bad news is that, with as busy between two books, including an ebook I've been playing with to pump up my writing resume, and the fact that I'll likely be moving next month, I won't have much time to update Shattered Mind in September. :( I'll be taking a break then until October. I know, I suck, but I haven't been getting many reviews as of late, so I'm finding it hard to inspire myself to write.

Chapter 15- Cracking the World Open

XXXXXXXX

We were airborne as soon as we left Ipsen's Castle. After dragging that insanely heavy axe for as long as I did, my arms ached incessantly. I was glad that I had my light short swords again. I was not a heavy weapons kind of guy.

Erin, our pilot, kept the Hilda Garde III in hover mode above the castle below as Zidane gathered everyone to discuss our find. Cid, several members of the crew, and of course, the world heroes had gathered on a bridge in front of the ship's largest copy of a world map, now hanging on the wall behind Zidane.

"Listen up everyone," Zidane said as he began. "Hilda was right, and we found something important inside the castle." He moved back to give more emphasis to the map. "On top of this castle is a mural, a map of Gaia. There were four mirrors on the mural. The writing on the mirrors was written in the same language we saw in Oeilvert, the language only I can read."

The four mirrors were displayed on a table up front. Zidane picked them up one at a time to reread the writing on the back of each of them. Everyone listened closely, still not sure what the riddles meant when Zidane put down the last mirror.

"The mirrors are pointing us to the locations that will help us break the seal to Terra," Zidane said confidently. The crew and most of the heroes applauded him. With this, we were one step closer to stopping Kuja, and perhaps more importantly, understanding what the hell he was doing. Although, the fact that the mirrors were placed on top of their respective locations on the mural helped with that too, but I kept my comments to myself.

"There's only one problem though," Zidane said. "We have no idea how to use the mirrors or how to break the seal with them."

The applause quickly died as I realized that my actions stopped our course of action. In the game, Taharka, guardian of the mirrors, gave us a hint when he died. Wonderful. I just had to slam a magically charged battleaxe into his head, drive him through the floor, and blow him up several stories below. Curse my hasty bloodlust! Only one way out of this one.

"It talked to me," I said, standing out from the small crowd.

Everyone turned to look at me, some with curiosity, but I mostly saw disgust amongst the crew. How could I keep something important like this from everyone? Fuck 'em, that's how!

I stepped away from the crowd, not quite standing up front with Zidane. I only wanted to give this one hint, then fade into the background and let the story continue on its own. I was so close to Terra that a single misstep would screw everything up. Fortunately, Dagger and Vivi had been busy during the fight and Amarant didn't show up until the last few moments.

"Zidane," I began. "Right after you were frozen in that Blizzaga spell, I walked up to Taharka and talked with him briefly. He laughed and said, 'All is one. One is all', and claimed that even if we did kill him, we would never solve the puzzle."

"All is one?" Zidane repeated, to which, I nodded. "What does that mean?"

There was a soft clamor among the crowd as everyone put their two cents in. Since education was still a rarity in this medieval society, the riddle really was that tricky for them. Fortunately, we had Cid with us, who was quite possibly the pinnacle of intellect in this world.

"A strange saying," Cid said, putting his hand to his lips. He thought for a moment as the crowd hushed, waiting for what he thought. After nearly a minute, Cid stood up and walked before the mural.

"You said the mirrors were placed specifically, correct?" he asked Zidane.

"Yeah," Zidane said, pointing to each mirror and its respective spot. "Here, here, here, and here."

Cid pushed a tack into the map at each spot Zidane indicated, then looked back, thinking for a few more seconds. "I've got it!" he announced. "The mirrors must be connected by some magic bond!"

Zidane, and almost everyone else, just looked confused. "Magic bond?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Just a thought," he said. "But these mirrors must belong to specific places. Otherwise, placing them like they were would serve no purpose. And all is one, one is all, seems to mean that the mirrors are connected. Now, assuming that this really will bring us to Terra, I can only surmise that this task cannot be completed by a single person, or even a large group, just as you've been traveling in."

"We can't do it?" Zidane asked. "Then how are we supposed to get to Terra? What was the point of all this?"

"Calm down Zidane," Cid said. "I said it couldn't be done in one group. But among the nine of you traveling, and I think you can find enough for four groups. One for each mirror and shrine."

There was a wave of hushed wonder as everyone agreed with Cid. Even I was impressed with him momentarily. He figured all that out with only obscure clues and a flicker of hope. I would have to discuss the philosophical with him at some point. I had gone so long without a heavy intellectual discussion that it felt like half a decade had passed.

"Alright," Zidane said. "Now that we got that out of the way, we need to know who goes with who to which shrine."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Dagger asked. "We've always traveled together. These shrines are on other sides of the planet."

"If Cid's right, then it's the only way," Zidane explained. "We'll need to conquer all four locations at once."

"We're not going together like we always do?" Eiko asked.

"No," Zidane said. "We're going to drop two of us off at each location."

Normally, this news would be troubling. Our strength had always been in numbers, and since each shrine housed a terrible demon protecting the site, we were in trouble. I just had to have some degree of faith that everyone would be able to survive without my backseat driving. Besides, I would probably just go to the Earth Shrine with Zidane and Quina. That seemed the logical choice, and since it was Quina, Zidane would need the extra help. He hadn't seen a lot of action during this adventure and his blue magic wasn't really that strong.

However I wanted to look at it, Eiko just grinned, like she was hatching some diabolical scheme. "I'll go with Dagger!" she declared after a moment of thought.

"What? Why?" Zidane asked, confused that Eiko didn't ask to go with him instead.

"It's called 'ladies first', Zidane!" Eiko pouted, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, we girls have things to talk about!"

"Uh-huh," Zidane said, not believing that as Eiko's reason at all. "Is that okay with you Dagger?"

"Sure," Dagger said. "But where are we going first?"

"Uh, well…" Zidane turned to look at the map and find where we were. However, since Zidane wasn't the magnificent navigator that we all knew he wasn't, he spent the next few seconds staring at the map before one of the ship's crew stood up.

"One of the locations you mentioned is just south of us!" the crewman said. I recognized him as Logan Smetty, the ship's navigator. He looked like he had just fallen out of the navy, with very short brown hair, a strong stance and confidant voice. He just looked a little goofy in the standard blue shirt and brown pants uniform of the Lindblum Air Cavalry.

"South?" Zidane repeated. "Then that would be… here, the Water Shrine, right?"

"Correct," Logan said. "I've been a sailor for a long time! I'm confident in my sense of direction. 'My power is protected underwater, surrounded by the earth.' That location sounds like a gulf that's just south of us. Why not go there first?"

"Alright, good idea," Zidane nodded to Logan. "Thanks for your help."

"Please don't hesitate to ask me if you need assistance with your next destination," Logan said with a salute.

"You can relax buddy. You're starting to sound like someone I know."

Some of us had a fleeting chuckle, as we knew Zidane was hinting about Steiner. Steiner, of course, was oblivious. Truth be told, Logan seemed very much like the rusty knight. Both of them had long military careers, and both used very formal speech. It almost made me think about football, wondering if Logan and Steiner would make good mascots for Navy and Army.

"Alright Erin!" Zidane shouted to our pilot. "Let's go!"

"Roger that!" Erin said.

She spun the wheel and turned up the throttle, and soon, we were off!

XXXXXXXX

The first two shrines were easy enough to find and release our teams off at. The Water Shrine was a tower sticking out of the ocean. Dagger and Eiko were dropped on the top level, with the entrance surrounded by a beautiful garden and the base of the tower surrounded by a whirling maelstrom. The Fire Shrine was in a volcano adjacent to Mt. Gulug. It was so hot that we nearly destroyed the airship just trying to get close enough to drop Freya and Amarant off.

Still, we headed south along the Forgotten Continent as we flew towards the Wind Shrine to drop Steiner and Vivi off. It took a long time to get between each shrine, so much so that I wondered how we were supposed to synchronize when to place the mirrors. Still, I guess it didn't matter since it just seemed to happen in the game.

During the trip to the Wind Shrine, I found myself wandering the deck of the ship. It was almost like walking around on a cruise ship repurposed for combat, which was enough of a distraction for me. Once we opened the gateway to Terra, I could kill Hart Innural, stop the whole plot, get Kaiten his body back, and then return the game to the way it was supposed to be.

My biggest concern though, was that I hadn't heard from Kaiten in days.

I spent most of the trip trying to contact him, but since I couldn't try screaming my lungs out, nothing worked. I was pretty tired from my efforts of controlling my sanity and the recent fighting against monsters and my friends. I leaned against a wall as a series of canyons opened up below us. One of them hid the Wind Shrine from us. Just a little longer…

"Trevor!"

I jumped as I heard my name called. Steiner was walking down the deck towards me, with a solemn look on his face.

"Hey Steiner," I said to my unexpected visitor. I had kept to myself for the most part lately, and the others only seemed too happy to oblige. I was only along because Cid saw me as a strong fighter. "What's up?"

"I simply wanted to talk," he said. "I didn't thank you for protecting the princess in that wretched castle."

"Oh, right," I said, remembering his request. "Don't worry about it."

"It was a noble thing to do," Steiner said, standing beside me. "You have my thanks."

"Meh, you would have done the same," I said without thinking about it. Steiner would have returned the favor for me, I felt, if I had anyone around to be protected.

"Perhaps I would," the knight said. "Tell me, do you have anyone important waiting for you at home?"

"Huh? Why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity," came the answer. "We've spent all this time fighting Kuja and protecting her highness, yet we know almost nothing about each other."

Of course I knew far more about Steiner than I care to let on, but I wasn't about to reveal that. Besides, having someone to talk to might actually be a nice change of pace.

"I don't really have anyone," I said, saying the first true thing about myself in a long, long time. "My mother died when I was a kid. I only have my father back home in Alexandria."

"Oh, my condolences for your loss," he said. "How is your father?"

"He's fine, or so I'd hope," I said, thinking of my real father back home on Earth. I didn't have much time to think about him lately. God, the last time we talked, we were arguing about my grades. He always suffered to give me a good life and I was just some incompetent shit. He had to be ashamed of me for my faults, but I was sure he was worried about me. I had been gone a long time. Still, it was easier to just go with the 'father' I had here in Gaia. "His name is William Delores."

"Captain Delores is your father?" Steiner asked quickly.

"You know him?"

"Know him? I've fought alongside him! He is a nimble fighter, as well as a wise and creative leader. Now I see where you get it."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Get what?"

Steiner turned to me as his excitement left him and was replaced with his usual serious look. "The others were talking about you," he began, confirming my fears. "Your agile fighting style is obviously inherited from your father—I assume he gave you private lessons—but the others were saying how odd it was that you always seem to know what to do and where to go. Why, just yesterday in Ipsen's Castle—"

"That was luck!" I blurted out quickly to cover my tracks. Steiner was talking about how I knew to climb the balcony in the front hall, which lead to the top room. "I studied architecture in school. After looking at the first few rooms, I knew that whole castle could only be supported if it relied on an internal circular design. By cutting through the middle, we just saved ourselves a lot of time."

Steiner stared down at me, like he was assessing what I said. It was a complete lie. After playing the game, I didn't even know if the pathway properly led back to the front hall. It was that twisted and confusing. All I knew was the platform was supposed to lead to the mirror room. Still, it seemed to do the trick as Steiner nodded in understanding after a few moments.

"That makes sense," he said.

_It did?_

"It seems Captain Delores has passed on much of his talent to you," Steiner said. "Why don't you come back inside? The wind is starting to pick up. It will be dangerous to stay outside of the cabin."

I hadn't noticed it through my panicked fabrication, but the wind was indeed stronger, and not just from how fast the airship was flying. In the distance, I could see the canyon that held the Wind Shrine. Above it was a swirling cloud of dust, living up to the reputation that the other shrines did as well. The wind wasn't strong enough to be called a tornado—the Hilda Garde III would never be able to get close if that were the case—but it certainly made an intimidating whirlwind. Steiner was fine from his heavy armor, but all I had was my chain mail.

"Good idea," I said. "I don't want to get caught out here."

We both turned to walk inside, but as soon as we got to the doorway, Zidane and Vivi stepped out.

"Good, you're all here," Zidane said.

_All here?_ I wondered. _What did that mean?_

"Erin is gonna fly the ship as low as she can into the canyon," Zidane explained. "The wind gets stronger the narrower it gets, so you'll have to drop down by rope."

"Hold on a sec," I said. "I'm going with them?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Steiner suddenly remembered. "Zidane and Quina will be heading to the Earth Temple, so you, Master Vivi and I will confront the Wind Shrine."

"Sounds democratic," I said, giving my best narrow-eyed stare at Zidane. I had assumed this whole time that I was going with him into the Earth Shrine. He and Quina were the most mismatched group that we sent into the shrines, so I would have helped balance it out. It made sense! It didn't even bother me which shrine I went to, but I hated the feeling of rejection. Zidane was the first friend I made in Gaia, and now he was telling me that I wasn't good enough to hang out with him?

There was another strong push from the wind as Erin ducked the airship and began our descent. It picked up so much that I lost my footing for a moment and had to lean against Steiner's shoulder to keep from being blown over the ship.

Zidane made sure to stay in the covered doorway. "It's the Wind Shrine, so it's protected by strong gusts. Be careful not to get blown away."

"There is no need to worry!" Steiner said confidently. "Trevor, Master Vivi, just follow me."

Steiner walked out into the open winds, but thanks to his heavy armor, he didn't budge an inch. He grinned, sure of himself and our party's ability to succeed. "See? There is nothing to fear!"

"Really?" Vivi asked, walking out into the wind tunnel that our front deck was becoming. Unfortunately, he was very light and was soon swept up by the breeze. His hat and jacket waved violently as he started to lift off from the deck.

"Master Vivi!" Steiner yelled, running to the young mage's aid. I had to tag along just so I could keep my eyes open in the harsh wind. Steiner grabbed Vivi by the collar and settled him back down on the deck, where the wind didn't have as strong an effect behind the heavy armor.

"Are you alright Master Vivi?" Steiner asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Vivi said.

"Trevor?" Steiner asked, turning to me.

"I'm fine," I said, keeping a death grip on Steiner's arm.

"Then let us move forward!"

Steiner moved freely, walking slowly to the front of the ship where the rope we had to rappel down was left. Vivi hugged his hat tightly to his head and looked like he could fall backwards at any second. I kept an arm free next to him just in case I had to grab him.

"Be careful!" Zidane yelled over the howling wind. "Meet us at the end of the canyon when you're done!"

I waved back to signal that we heard him, but I didn't turn to see if he saw. I was too busy looking for the rope we had to climb down. It took me a moment even after we reached the front of the ship since they were dangling like mad in the wind.

"Can you grab them?" Steiner yelled back to me.

"I'll try!" I shouted back. "Just get closer!"

Steiner inched closer to the railing, which held the wiggling ropes, but against the sixty mile an hour gust, it was harder to do that I would have thought. I did my best to keep my balance by holding into Steiner while swinging my arm out to grab one of the three ropes, but each time I came close, one would snap back and flick against my hand.

I tried to control my growing anger by using it to ignore the pain. I reached out and grabbed one rope, but when it snapped back against me, I held fast. Anger bit through pain and I was finally able to wrangle the rope to our huddled group.

"What about the other ropes?" Steiner asked.

"We only need the one!" I shouted. "Steiner, you should go down first so you can weigh it down!"

"Very well," he agreed. "Don't dawdle or you'll be flung off the ship!"

I nodded, grabbing Vivi by the back of his jacket. Steiner grabbed onto the rope and flipped over the guardrail. I held myself low to prevent the winds knocking me over and to keep Vivi safer. By the time the rusty knight slid down the rope out of sight, I was working quickly, getting Vivi up onto the guardrail so he could slide down next.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Vivi hollered.

"Safe enough!" I yelled back. The longer we stayed here the louder the wind seemed to get. "Look, if it makes you feel better, we'll go down together, ok?"

Vivi looked down at the ground. We couldn't see the bottom from all the dust that was stirred up, and even Steiner was getting harder to see. I tried to steady myself as I lifted myself over the guardrail. The rope was steady thanks to Steiner, but the wind still pressed against me, doing its best to throw me to my death. I clamped the rope between my feet while I started sliding down, keeping a hand out to help Vivi as he climbed down just above me.

The descent was terrifying. Every moment felt like I could go flying at any second. I swore to myself that when we got back on the Hilda Garde III, I would stay inside and hide under my bed, avoiding all contact with wind for as long as I could.

We finally reached the ground after a hundred feet or so. Steiner held the rope steady as I dropped to the ground. Vivi let go as well and fell into Steiner's waiting arms. My hands felt rope burned from gripping the rope too tightly. It was a good thing my short swords were easy to grip.

The wind was much weaker at the bottom of the canyon, but there was still a presence. I looked up and could see a crack in the cliff side where the wind leaked from, no doubt an effect of the Wind Shrine itself. The wind was aimed further down the canyon, and since the entryway was in a little dip, below the wind current.

As soon as Steiner let go of the rope, it flung back up towards the ship. I assumed the others would take that as a sign that we were all on the ground. We needed to get inside to get out of the wind, but also so we could sync up with the others.

"Let's get going!" I shouted. It was much easier to hear each other now, but there was still a latent echo from the wind.

The entrance led down a small staircase. After only a dozen steps, the hallway opened up before us, leading down a long, spectacularly decorated hallway. Every ten feet or so, the hall would segment, leading to a step, almost like a speed bump. A soft breeze kept dust from piling up in the corners. The colors had faded from the blue and grey tiles on the ground thanks to weathering, but I could still tell that this hallway was once a marvel of design.

"This place is magnificent," Steiner said softly.

"Yes, very pretty," I agreed half-heartedly. "Can we get going now?"

"Do you think there's a windmill in here somewhere?" Vivi asked innocently. "That would be neat!"

I glanced down at Vivi for a moment. I didn't bother asking what good a windmill would do in a place like this. For now, all I could think of was killing the guardian here and unlocking the way to Terra. I walked quickly, easily outpacing my teammates.

"Trevor, what's the hurry?" Vivi asked. "I thought we had a lot of time until we had to use the mirror."

"I'm just impatient," I said. "Besides, there might be a trap or two set up here. I'm trying to look for it."

"A trap?" Steiner asked. "Don't you think you're being a bit paranoid?"

Continuing the universe's sense of comedic timing, a sharp wind began to pick up within the tunnel. Unlike before, we didn't have a wide area to disperse some of the wind this time. The hallway became a wind tunnel and the full force of the gust hit us head on. I had to lay on my stomach and grab on of the steps on the floor.

"I'm paranoid because I'm usually right about things like this!" I shouted as the wind picked up. It was so strong that even Steiner had to stay low. He held Vivi in one arm to keep the little mage from falling behind.

"At least that's all there is!" Vivi said. "It could be worse!"

Just then, there was a soft grind of gears coming from down the hall behind us. A panel opened up at the bottom of the stairs, revealing a row of long, jagged spikes, as well as a pair of skeletons hanging within them. The wind quickly cleared the bones away.

"Dammit Vivi!" I shouted. "What did I tell you about saying those things?"

"I'm sorry!"

Just my luck. The shrine I was assigned to was also the most physically challenging to enter. When the wind picked up, it overtook most of my senses. I couldn't hear anything beyond the roar of the wind. Steiner was yelling something up at me, but I had no idea what he was saying. Still holding on to my stair, I flicked my hand down, then towards the shrine up ahead, telling Steiner to climb along the floor. He nodded in understanding and started pulling himself along while Vivi held onto his neck.

I turned back and tried pulling myself along as well. I had at least fifty feet to go and the steps were few and far between. Fortunately, whether by design or sheer luck, the floor had several large cracks in it between each tile. I was able to sink my hands into the cracks and pull myself along, avoid the brunt of the wind.

Our progress was slow, but steady. As I climbed, I thought about the others and how they were doing. Zidane and Quina were probably most for the way to the Earth Shrine by now. Dagger and Eiko were busy dodging ice boulders on the way to their shrine. I had no idea what Amarant and Freya were dealing with, but since they were in a volcano, I could assume lava or fireballs were somehow involved.

After nearly twenty minutes of climbing and somewhat resting, I had neared the last ten feet of the hallway. Here, the wind was at its strongest, but I could see the pipes carved into the walls that was producing the wind. I had gone wall climbing before when I was younger, and that was always a challenge on my forearms, but that was nothing compared to what I was going through now. As I reached the last step, and crawled under the pipes, freeing myself from their grasp, I wondered if I really had the strength to pull my short swords out.

Steiner and Vivi were still struggling halfway down the hall. They looked like they had a steady grip for now, but that wouldn't last. I climbing my way up the wall into a stand by use of my elbows, then stopped to catch my breath and massage my forearm with my other forearm. I couldn't feel or really move anything beyond my wrist, but I still had to do something.

I grasped a short sword between two dead hands and tried to channel as much energy through it as I could. Unfortunately, since I didn't have a very good grasp on the handle, I couldn't form a very effective Demon Saber. Purple energy flowed out through the tip, but it was bulgy and lopsided. Still, it held the same power as a normal Demon Saber did, so I was able to cut into the walls, severing the wind flow. Each pipe collapsed as the warped Demon Blade cut through them. Soon, all the wind was gone, leaving us with an eerie silence and a fantastic chance to rest.

I didn't even bother sheathing my blade, opting to just drop it instead while I fell backwards, out of breath and with throbbing forearms. Steiner and Vivi seemed no worse for wear as they cam up to me, tired, but otherwise fine.

"Well done Trevor!" Steiner congratulated. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I panted. "Just tired."

"Are you sure?" Vivi asked. "Your sword was all floppy and your forearms look really worn out."

"I know," I said. "It's a problem adults deal with sometimes. I'll tell you when you're older."

Vivi gave me a well-earned look of confused as Steiner offered me a hand up. I dropped my arm into his hand and he yanked me off the ground and set me on my feet, propping me against a wall. I could still walk just fine, but I wanted to lay down a while and give my arms a chance to relax. However, all that changed when I got a look of the central chamber we were in now.

Steiner was the first of us who found his voice. "Is this… the Wind Shrine?"

The entire shrine opened itself to us, in all its glory. It looked like a gazebo in the middle of a domed room. A single hole at the top of the dome let light in and basked the shrine in its former glory. The same blues and grays that we had seen in the hallway now danced in here, climbing over the pillars of the gazebo and circling its roof. Dips in the floor around the room told us that they were once pools, filled with sparkling water I imagined, but no more. Now they were dried up and collecting cobwebs.

In the middle of the gazebo was the shrine itself. I recognized that round table with a panel in the front facing us. An indentation there matched the mirror's shape.

"Is that it?" Vivi asked. "That wasn't so bad."

"Speak for yourself," I said, rubbing my arms.

Steiner pulled the mirror out from inside his chest plate. He kept it safe from being cracked during the trek down the hallway, and with no sign of any guardian, it looked like we were in the clear.

"Alright," I said. "Let's just se the mirror down and get out of here."

"Sounds like a fine plan," Steiner agreed. He approached the dais, when suddenly—

"**I wondered when you would arrive.**"

I looked up just in time to see an enormous green dragon appear out of thin air. He seemed to flow out from a single point, like what Taharka did. His wingspan easily matched the length of the gazebo, each flap from them forcing me to strain my eyes from the wind they blew. His orange underbelly contrasted with his green scales and blue quills running along his back. Lastly, he had a gray bread running in spikes along his head, almost like a lion's mane. He looked every bit as intimidating as he did in the game.

"Kuja said there would be intruders," the guardian said. "But he said there would be more."

"Who are you?" Steiner asked. "What's your connection to Kuja?"

"I have no connection," the guardian said. "Kuja simply warned us that someone would attempt to breach the bond between this world and Terra."

"Terra…" I said aloud.

"What is Terra?" Vivi asked. "And why are you trying to stop us?"

"Terra is a marvel far beyond this nascent world," the guardian said. "And I am one of its four guardians. You will never break the barrier to Terra!"

Steiner dropped the mirror on the dais and pulled out his sword. "We'll see about that!"

Rather than feel threatened though, the guardian just smiled. He let out a laugh that with anyone else would sound like a cough. "A petty mortal cannot cause harm to an immortal guardian."

"Immortal?" Vivi asked. "Guys, are we—"

"We're fine," I said, drawing my own swords as well. "He can be killed. He just has a long life, like the tree monster in the Iifa Tree."

Vivi took up his staff and stood by my side with confidence, nodding in determination.

The guardian just took off from his pedestal on top of the gazebo and hovered, analyzing us. "It has been over four hundred years since someone has been foolish enough to fight me," he mocked. "I hope you'll provide some decent excitement before I take your lives!"

"Heads up!" I shouted as the dragon made his first move. He flipped back and flew in an arc, using the curved ceiling to come at us even faster than I thought possible. I barely had time to hit the deck before he whipped right by us. He scratched the floor right by us with his long, thin arms. He may have missed, but the sonic boom that followed right behind him didn't. I could feel my ears pop as the air pressure changed immediately.

"Okay, this is gonna suck," I muttered, standing up and trying to get my equilibrium back.

The guardian floated to the center of the room, hovering out of reach. He came to a rest back on the gazebo, but flapped his wings to keep up the pace of the wind. "Two swordsman and a boy with a staff?" he said. "How do you possibly expect to win?"

The guardian didn't know that Vivi was a magic user, which was all the advantage we needed. Unfortunately, Vivi was also the only one with the range who could hit him, so we had to make sure his attack counted. I slowly walked in front of him, trying to block the dragon's view of him, giving the mage a chance to channel some of that energy of his.

"Vivi," I muttered quietly. "Use something on him. Fire, ice, I don't care what."

"Okay," he said softly. "I'll try."

"You are truly pathetic!" the guardian said. My guess was he was trying to piss us off into attacking him while being blinded by rage. He was definitely starting to piss me off. "What kind of a fool steps into a battle with no way to fight his opponent?"

"Keep talking dipshit," I shouted. Then, in a whisper, I asked, "Vivi, almost ready?"

"Almost," he said.

"I ask you," Steiner said, catching on to the plan. "What do you gain from stopping us? We barely even know what Terra is. It might not even pose a threat to us!"

"True," the guardian said. "But you pose a threat to Terra. I will not allow you to pass."

"That is unfortunate," Steiner said slowly. "Then I suppose I will have to rely on Master Vivi to finish this for us."

The guardian barely had time to turn his head up at us when Vivi launched his attack. A well of fire was trapped underneath the guardian on top of the gazebo and exploded upward, engulfing the beast with so much heat and energy that it was impossible to look at directly. The fire burned for several seconds, burning the stone rooftop until it finally dissipated, leaving the rooftop bare. The guardian was gone. It seemed… almost disappointingly easy.

"Excellent work Master Vivi!" Steiner cried out. "You destroyed him in one shot!"

"Hehe, thanks," Vivi said. He took a deep breath. Obviously, the attack had taken a lot out of him.

"Who destroyed who now?"

The reason I felt uneasy, and the reason the rooftop was bare, was because the guardian had managed to avoid the attack entirely. He clung to the ceiling of the room upside down, staring down at us, unscathed. All Vivi had done was scorch part of the gazebo.

"You've chosen a fight out of your league," the guardian said. "You will not survive this."

As the guardian dropped down right onto our position, to crush or slash us to bits, I shouted the only words that came to mind. "FALL BACK!"

All three of us ran the only way we could, towards the doorway, ducking deep enough into the long hallway that the guardian couldn't reach us. We barely made it before the ground exploded behind us. I could hear claws scratch against Steiner's armor as he fell forward, pushed down by the attack.

"Finished already?" the guardian asked. "Such weaklings."

"You…!" Steiner said, unable to think of an insult.

"He's too fast," Vivi said. "I can't target him with my magic! We can't take him on with just the three of us!" Vivi was horror stricken at the realization that he was our only hope. If he couldn't land any hits, then we were going to die in this attempt.

"Master Vivi!" Steiner said, standing proudly, displaying his full courage as a knight. It was almost like something out of a movie. Dragonheart came to mind. "A true man never gives up in a fight!"

"But…"

"Vivi," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Just be quiet and calm down. We've got this as long as we come up with a plan."

"Which one?" the wind guardian called from inside the room. His voice echoed as he spun around the gazebo, showing off his speed to drain our resolve. He landed in front of the gazebo just so he could continue taunting us. "Which one of you will perish first?"

Steiner, who had had enough of the gloating dragon, turned to face him and aimed his sword at him. "Silence!" he shouted. "I will vanquish you!"

"What?" Vivi cried out.

"I have a plan," Steiner said, speaking quietly so only Vivi and I could hear him. "I shall attempt to hold him down. Meanwhile, Trevor, you should run in and assault him. Cut his wings off if you have to. Master Vivi, you attack him with your magic. Use everything at your disposal."

"Are you sure Steiner?" I asked. "That's pretty ballsy, especially for you." Since this part of the game was never revealed, I was unsure how things would really progress. Steiner might make it out alive, but he could still be horribly injured. Adding me into the mix would turn this into a clusterfuck.

"I don't know what you mean by 'ballsy'," Steiner said. "But if you mean it's a risk, then it's one I'm willing to take."

"But…" Vivi started slowly saying. "What if I miss the target…?"

But Steiner's response was as simple as it was inspiring. "I trust you, both of you, with my life."

I stopped for a moment, playing the moment over immediately in my head. Steiner had just said that he trusted me. Me, of all people, who had fallen out of favor with everyone in the world heroes group, except perhaps for Vivi. Maybe this was the right group to join. I could feel the joyous energy seeping through me as I decided to fight for my friends, to keep them safe and to continue the storyline.

"Are you ready Trevor?" Steiner asked, holding his sword at his side.

"Aye," I answered, capping each blade with an Explosion.

"Then let us go to battle," Steiner said, lifting his sword and charging forward. "HAVE AT THEE!"

Steiner led the rush, aiming his sword in an old stance that I hadn't seen since my time on earth, called the Archer's Stance. It was a risky move, and I knew if Steiner was going to do something like that, than he really was going all out. I broke left as we both reentered the room, giving him the space he was going to need. Attacking on two fronts sounded smarter anyway.

As I feared, Steiner carried through with the Archer's Stance. He halted a few feet from the guardian, then, with both arms in fluid motion, threw his sword. It was a reckless attack that rarely managed to hit vital targets, and even worse, it left the attacker without a weapon. I only hoped Steiner knew what he was doing.

As I feared though, the broadsword flew through the air, heading for the beast's face, but because of its weight and Steiner still tired from our climb up the hallway, it didn't have enough force behind it and fell short. It landed with a crash at the dragon's feet.

"Haha!" the guardian roared. "Was that supposed to be an attack! How futile!"

"No, it wasn't," Steiner corrected, before breaking into a run. "This was!"

The guardian didn't have time to recover as the knight ran forth and jumped at the last second, clutching the dragon by the head. The attack was sudden, unexpected, and it worked. With Steiner crawling around on top of the dragon's head, he could weigh the monster down, all while staying out of harm's way.

"I'll tear you to pieces!" the dragon shouted, reaching up and clawing at Steiner's armor. The first slash alone knocked off his leg armor. Apparently, I assumed Steiner was safe too soon. He screamed in pain as the claws pierced through his leg.

"Steiner!" I called out, for fear of a friend.

All I had was my swords and the hope that the guardian wouldn't start flying again. The beast thrashed about, clawing at Steiner, but fortunately, its arms were only long enough to reach the knight's legs. The bad part was that he was tearing at them greedily. Steiner screamed in horrid pain as his skin was ripped like wrapping paper on Christmas morning. Blood spattered everywhere, and I worried already if he would survive without a white mage nearby.

Without thinking, I threw one of my Explosion capped swords up at the dragon, not really concerned with where it hit. I lost track of it in the excitement, but was soon delighted to hear the guardian roar out in pain. When I looked up, I saw my short sword bouncing back to the ground, leaving a smoking hole in the thin membrane of his wing. Perfect. Now he couldn't fly.

"You insignificant whelp!" the guardian shouted. He flapped his wings wildly, but he only lifted off slightly on one side. He didn't even have the coordination to get off of the ground now.

"Eat me, freak," I said defiantly.

As Steiner fell from the guardian's head, the dragon turned to me. Steiner was down and in serious need of medical attention. I doubted he would even be able to walk out of here. If I didn't get him a potion or to Dagger soon, he wasn't going to last long. Then again, with an angry dragon about to kill me, I didn't have much time for myself either.

I still had one short sword with an Explosion ready. I held my weapon defensively, waiting for the next attack. It seemed like minutes as the guardian stared me down, but I knew he had been moving towards me the entire time. Foam frothed at his lip in rage. He had obviously never had to deal with a challenge like this before.

"I must admit," the guardian said, still noticeably angry, but calming down some. "You're stronger than the last several fools who tried to raid this shrine. I can't recall the last time I've ever actually been hit, but my wing will heal in time. You, however, will die in here."

"Stop stalling and swing at me!" I shouted impatiently. I was on full defensive mode. The second the guardian was idiotic enough to strike me, I would swing my Explosion at him and blow his hand off.

The attack finally came. The guardian raised his hand and swung it at me from the side, easily telegraphing himself. I intercepted at once, bringing my short sword out to meet him. The attacks both connected, resounding an impressive explosion as my senses were soon overtaken, but I was pleased in that I knew I had won.

However, the sensation of victory didn't last long as I soon felt myself lifted from the ground and soaring through the air. The next thing I knew, I was laying on my back. Perhaps I had been thrown from the blast? I looked down at the guardian and realized that I had not been so fortunate. My attack hadn't taken off his hand, like I had hoped. His skin was much thicker and stronger around his hand than his wing, and he was able to absorb my counter like it was nothing. Instead of my plan working, he had sent me flying, and now sent another clawed hand in after me.

I didn't have time to react. I tried to pull myself back, but my body was in shock and the claws landed, sinking inches into my chest. I would have screamed if my lungs weren't punctured. I tried to breath, but with the weight of the dragon's arm on me, as well as my likely collapsed lungs, breathing seemed nearly impossible. How could my plan have gone so wrong? How the fuck did Steiner and Vivi do this in the game on their own?

"Any last words before I rip you apart?" the dragon gloated, leaning his head in to meet mine.

I wanted to shout out, to curse the guardian, to threaten it, or to do anything, but with all the wind knocked out of me, that was quite impossible.

"No?" the guardian asked. "Then this will be even more enjoyable for me."

I shut my eyes as the monster's head came down onto mine to bite my head off. Even if I could gather the energy to form an attack, it wouldn't do much good against him. I had to wait until suddenly—

"NOOOO!" Vivi shouted from the doorway. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"What?" the guardian asked, looking up at the little mage.

Vivi, who had spent the entire time gathering mana for a single assault, finally released it all at once. Even from my spot on the ground, I saw the floor glow red as an arcane rune etched itself below the guardian.

"FIRAGA!"

The floor soon erupted as a pillar of lava overtook the dragon. I lost sight of him behind the heat and brightness of the attack, but I soon felt a weight lift from my chest. I opened the corner of my eye to see that the lava, still flowing, had burned away all of the dragon's arm above his wrist. I thanked my good fortune and crawled away as best I could on one arm, until I had fallen into one of the cobweb-filled pools for protection.

As soon as the thundering cacophony died down, I looked over the edge of the pool to see what had become of the guardian. I had to stare in horror for a moment as I realized he wasn't there. My gaze dashed around the room wildly, expecting another unexpected attack. Had he dodged this assault as well?

My gaze finally fell back to where the guardian had been standing just a few feet away when I caught a hint of green next to a pile of charred scales. I had to take stock for a moment when I realized all I could see left was the hand that had held me down, part of the guardian's tail, and his head, which had fallen in a gory pile in another old pool. The dragon hadn't flown away or dodged at all.

Vivi had literally disintegrated it.

"Trevor!" Vivi said, running to my side. I reached for him, gasping for breath. I couldn't find the strength to speak, but when Vivi just stood there, confused and unsure what to do, I impatiently struck out. He had a small pouch around his waist, which I grabbed and ripped open. Three hi-potion vials fell out and bounced off the ground. I grabbed the nearest one, nearly twisting the glass off as I removed the cork, then downed the entire container. My lungs quickly repaired and I found I could breath and talk again.

"I'm fine," I said. I grabbed a second vial and drank its contents too, bringing myself back to full capacity. I looked across the room and saw Steiner had rolled himself into a pool like I had. There was a trail of blood from where he had fallen originally. He looked like he was in terrible shape and had lost even more blood. After what he had gone through, I was surprised his legs were still attached.

"Finally," I said. "We're almost to Terra."

I walked to the gazebo, where the mirror was still safely sitting on the dais. The indentation was starting to glow. Perhaps it was a sign that one of the other teams had already placed their mirror. It would make sense if there were a time limit that the mirrors all had to be placed within.

"Trevor?" Vivi asked hurriedly. "What about Steiner?"

I glanced back at the knight, forgetting about him for a moment. "Give him the last potion. I have to set this up."

"Oh, uh… alright," Vivi said. He ran back to grab the vial as I returned my focus to the mirror. I held it gently and slid it over the indentation. There was a slight hesitance at first, as if the mirror didn't want to drop into place. However, I wouldn't let anything stop me and just applied a liberal amount of force.

The mirror snapped into place. It echoed a crack, and for a moment, I worried that I broke something, until the mirror's face changed. For a moment, it turned to dull sliver, no longer reflecting anything. I stared curiously for a moment, until the image changed, revealing familiar tall blue trees, a bright blue light covering the sky, and a small village that looked like Bran Bal from the game.

"Trevor?" Steiner asked. "Has something happened?"

He walked to the gazebo with Vivi at his side. Steiner had to lean on his sword for support. His leg was mostly healed, but there were still trails of blood now drying and crusting. He looked out of place without his leg armor on. Vivi carried the leg guards, leaving Steiner with black shorts instead. They looked at me curiously, expecting me to provide them with the obvious answer.

"We did it," I told them in a hushed tone. "Terra's open!"

XXXXXXXX

The Hilda Garde III rushed to the north after we picked up all four teams. There was damage amongst everyone, having fought every guardian of Terra, but everyone managed to get their mirrors into place and get out alive. I spent my time on the bridge, watching the sea race by as we neared the Shimmering Isle.

Most of the world heroes were in the bridge as well. Zidane was talking strategy with Regent Cid in the back. Dagger, Vivi, Eiko and Steiner were having a conversation I cared nothing for. The hi-potion had been enough to tide Steiner over until we picked the girls up and had them heal him. He had lost more blood than I thought and was almost unconscious when we brought him back to the airship.

Everyone chatted away to calm their nerves. We all knew what we were doing was something that hadn't been done in perhaps centuries. Although I was the only one who appreciated the depth of it and who understood it properly, the others were excited. I heard more than a few squeals from Eiko, and Zidane was just interested in stopping Kuja's latest plan. If he only knew the truth, he would have kicked himself.

Kuja needed the gateway opened, and we had just given it to him.

I could feel my body tingle with glee when the small island finally came into view. The idiot cultists of Esto Gaza were right when they thought it lead to something, but they hadn't the foggiest idea what it really was. From the high altitude, I could see a glowing light at the center of the island, surrounded by cliffs. A rainbow of colors reflected like an oil stain in the ocean as the gate between our two worlds was forced open.

"Mister Zidane!" one of the crewmembers shouted from a control console. "I'm seeing some abnormal readings from the island!"

The ship started to buck hard, as if Erin were throwing the throttle back and forth as quickly as she could. "It feels like we're getting pulled in!" she said.

Steiner stood by Dagger. He placed an arm around her as one more jerk from the ship knocked us all down. Erin pulled some levers to quickly stabilize the ship. "Zidane!" Steiner shouted. "It might be too dangerous to continue!"

But Zidane was almost as adamant as I was. "No, we have to keep going!"

"Are we going to bust in with the airship?" Eiko asked.

"All we know is that this is the entrance," Zidane said. "We'll find something and go from there."

"I heard the people of Esto Gaza call this the 'Spirit Road'," Dagger said.

"Right," Zidane nodded. "The path that leads souls to Terra,"

"Those fucking cultists think it's the way to heaven," I pointed out.

"Can it, Trevor," Zidane said impatiently. "We don't have the time for it."

I glanced back at him. We were both fed up with each other, but I didn't care. I had reached my goal. In five minutes, I would be on the remains of another planet trapped within Gaia. The dimensional physics behind it were confusing as hell, so I didn't even try to understand how it could all work.

"Maybe it's a teleportation gate," Dagger suggested. "Like the one in Kuja's palace?"

"It might be," Zidane said. "He seems to know a lot about Terran technology. He might have stolen some to use in his hideout."

"It's NOT a teleportation gate!" I shouted. I knew that their ignorance was perfectly reasonable, but it still annoyed me. How could they jump to the conclusion that Kuja was just a technology thief? I hated stupidity so much. Couldn't they just relax and enjoy the excitement of finally killing Hart Innural?

"Not a teleportation gate?" Zidane asked. His tone mocked me, as if he scoffed the very idea that he were wrong. "Then what is it?"

I sighed. I was wasting my time trying to explain it. Was it because I didn't fully understand it myself? No. It was because Zidane was becoming an arrogant bastard. I was the one pulling everything forward, pointing out flaws and overlooked details. Who was he to question me?

"It's a dimensional portal," I said. "It leads to Terra, whose fate is intertwined with Gaia's."

By now, everyone on the bridge was giving me the same look—confusion, with a hint of fear.

"I don't get it!" Zidane said, stepping forward to confront me. I took my eyes off of the Shimmering Isle and turned to him. "How could you possibly know any of that?"

I didn't care anymore. I would have said 'The Discovery Channel' if I were in a joking mood, but since I wasn't, I just went with the first bullshit line that came to me.

"Oeilvert," I said. "I read it off of one of the images."

"You read it?" Zidane questioned.

"Yup."

"In Oeilvert?"

"Yeah."

"From the scribbling on the wall that no one can really read?"

"You seem to get by with it."

"Yeah, but I don't hide away form everyone else and turn my back on my friends!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME ZIDANE? I'm going through some tough shit right now!"

Zidane shook his head and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Trevor, do you remember when we were walking to Burmecia after Brahne attacked it? We had that talk about swear words and you said your favorite swear word was, 'blood hell', because anything stronger than that didn't impress girls?"

"It was 'bloody hell," I corrected. "And if you'll notice, I'm not exactly taken. We can't all have princesses hanging off our arms."

"…And now you curse constantly and treat the rest of us like a burden."

"What's your point?"

"But despite that, you always know what's going on, where to go, how to attack things, like Ipsen's Castle."

"Zidane, is this wise?" Steiner asked. "I already found out how he knew where to go in the castle for you. There's no need for this line of questioning."

I looked at Steiner with hate and betrayal. Of everyone here, I thought he and Vivi were the two I could still count on. Apparently, I was wrong. "You were spying on me?"

"I never made any assumptions!" Steiner defended.

"That's not even what I'm worried about!" Zidane interrupted. "When we fought that bug monster guarding the mirrors, it froze me in that block of ice."

"What's your fucking point?" I asked again.

Zidane took a short breath, choosing his next words carefully. "Vivi and Dagger might not have heard it because they were busy trying to rescue me, but I could hear everything. Every single word you said to that monster."

My eyes widened as Zidane spoke. Soon, it seemed that my plans to get to Terra would be cut short. I made a mistake, and my arrogance was going to cost me dearly.

"Who is Garland?" Zidane asked. "And who are you, really?"

I backed up against the window as everyone in the room surrounded me. I had no way out and no way to get to Terra. Fighting my way out would either get me killed or kill Gaia's only chance of surviving Kuja's insanity. I was truly in a no-win situation.

"Trevor," Zidane said, drawing his daggers. "Are you even from Gaia?"


	16. Project Soulforge's Flaws

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: Sorry about the hiatus guys. I hated to do it, but I needed to take some time to clear my head (my job is quite stressful), and move all the way to… well, I probably shouldn't tell. If I let you all know where I live now, someone is bound to hunt me down next time I have a cliffhanger. ^^ I'm now closer to work and further away from my god-awful bitch of a stepmother, so things are looking up. Now I only have to worry about complaining about my bosses, my job, and my landlord. :D

Also, I've been reading over some of the older reviews I've gotten for past chapters and have a better understanding of the diminishing review count. Obviously, Trevor's actions have been deemed unreasonable, even with the things going wrong with him. With the time I've had to put into work recently, I haven't had the time to plan my chapters as precisely as I like to normally, so his character work didn't come through as… neatly as I would have liked.

A lot of Trevor's recent decisions came from two main things. 1) He wanted to keep the storyline on track as much as he could, and 2) he didn't want the others to reject or judge him for trying to explain his situation. Both of these themes were muddled as I tried to continue the one chapter a month quota, but as I've mentioned before, they've put me in a mentoring program as an instructor, and that can lead to some late nights.

However, the good news is that now that Trevor has come this far, he has no more reason to hide. His old self will come back (between my new apartment and more time in the morning now), and several more things will be answered, but knowing me, those answers will just lead to massive cliffhangers. ;)

But now you guys get something real awesome! Another three-part chapter group! After the success of Kaiten's backstory, I've decided to make another trilogy, only this one is about Trevor, Kaiten, and discovering the truth about Project Soulforge. And to start, you get a fight scene unlike any in this story before…

Advent Children anyone?

Chapter 16- Project Soulforge's Flaws

XXXXXXXX

I should have kept quiet.

If I hadn't opened my mouth… If I hadn't listened to Damien… none of this would have happened. Where was Kaiten in all this? Why wasn't he there to help me? To correct my mistakes? I hadn't heard from him in days, and only now, staring down at my former friends as they held their weapons against me in the cockpit of the Hilde Garde III, did I understand how serious my predicament really was.

I was completely alone.

"What have you been doing Trevor?" Zidane asked. "Who are you working for?"

"I've been working _with_ you guys!" I defended. "I've been trying to save the world and stop Kuja!"

"Or have you been setting us up?" Zidane asked. "Maybe you work for this 'Garland' you mentioned to that bug guardian. Is he from Terra too?"

"No! I dunno. Maybe?" I fumbled. I was focusing so much on the weapons aimed at me that I could barely concentrate.

"What were your orders? Follow us and relay information to Kuja?"

"Why would I work for Kuja? He tried to kill me!"

"Well, I don't see a lot of other explanations here!"

Enough was enough. Maybe it was time to come clean. I had been holding back on it for so long that I wasn't quite sure where to begin. Was this even the right place? Would any of them believe me? Just what would they think of Kaiten? "Just… Let's just get to Terra, and I'll explain everything. I promise."

"That's not gonna happen!" Zidane said. "What's to stop you from running away, or selling us out!"

"Just… trust me, please! I swear, I'm on your side!"

"Trust is a two way street," Steiner said, joining the fray. "You have to give it to receive it."

"It's time to give up Trevor," Cid said, standing behind Zidane. "If you stand down now, I won't have you arrested. Your past services, whatever the motivation behind them, will allow you to go free, but I cannot allow you to continue this journey."

"But I _need_ to get to Terra!" I shouted desperately.

"We don't know anything about you anymore," Zidane said, separating himself from the pack by taking a step forward. After out last bout, I wondered if I could actually beat him in combat, but surrounded with his backup, I was in no position to try. "What if you're a double agent, working for this 'Garland' guy? Did you ever stop to see it from our perspective?"

For a moment, I felt like it hurt Zidane to even think of those words. However, I had much bigger concerns as I stood, pressed against the front window. The Shimmering Isle was just below us. The island normally glowed like a prism in a sunbeam, shining colors in every direction for all to see, but I could see an eerie light glowing around the perimeter. I looked back at my former friends, and I knew what had to be done.

"Guys," I said fatally. "I won't fight you."

"A wise decision," Cid said. "Come. You can wait in your quarters while the others disembark."

"You interrupted me," I said, drawing a tired gaze from the others. "I said I won't fight you, but you still won't stop me."

In an instant, I charged up an Explosion on the tip of my short sword and drove it into the window. Glass shattered everywhere as the fresh wind blew it into the cabin, cutting my back up from behind, and more importantly, blinding the others for a moment. Glass shards flew through the air and wind blew everything back, knocking Erin, our pilot, back. She held onto the wheel for support, but that only caused the ship to turn up, trying to gain more altitude. Gravity shifted in the cabin, and as everyone else fell to the back of the room, I took the chance to grab on to the windowsill, pulling myself up and onto the nose of the ship.

I slipped one short sword back into its sheath, but had to hold the other one in my teeth. I was petrified as I saw the land peak out from underneath the ship. We were still hundreds of feet in the air, and at this height with the wind blowing at over a hundred miles in my face, I soon forgot what control felt like. Terror gripped me as I immediately regretted this line of thinking.

I didn't have long to remorse though. Erin soon righted the airship, correcting its heading. My grip on the windowsill was already tenuous, but soon, with the winds fighting me, I couldn't hold on much longer. In either the most desperate move I had ever pulled, or the stupidest thing I ever did, I chose to continue my journey, and let go.

As I fell, I spun and tumbled, like a crumpled piece of paper. I didn't do what Buzz Lightyear could and "fall with style." The airship would come into view, then I would turn and see the Shimmering Isle coming closer. Then the airship would fall further, then the island would come closer still. Somewhere, amongst the howling wind, my screams danced for all who could hear them.

I soon worried if I had jumped the gun when I was perhaps 100 feet above the Shimmering Isle. The glowing was getting brighter as I came closer, but it didn't seem logical or safe. With my end soon at hand, fear overcame me. I held my arms against my chest, hoping for even the slightest comfort, and slammed my eyes shut. All I could do now was wait for the sudden stop.

However, after several seconds beyond what I thought would be my end, I tentatively opened my eyes. Rather than seeing myself sprawled in multiple pieces across the ground, I saw light, and colors. I was in a tunnel of rainbows, linking red through every hue and spectrum to indigo, then back to red as the rainbows bonded to each other. I soon realized that the portal had opened and that I was floating.

The rainbows began to spin, blending into needles of colors, shooting amongst themselves at random. As they twirled around me, I felt myself being lifted, up into the sky. I flew with control, just like the fight with Kaiten inside my mind. Or rather, I was pushed up gently. There was a great glowing light above me that the portal was pressing me towards.

I had finally reached Terra…

XXXXXXXX

When the needled rainbow tunnel started to fade, they took on shapes and substance, surrounding me as solid matter. I soon felt wet and realized that I was actually at the bottom of a river. I only remembered a pond in the game near where the others landed. If that was the case, then I had to get moving before the others showed up and chased me down. Hart Innural had to be somewhere around here.

I kicked myself from the riverbed and swam to the surface. I recalled being in the exact same situation when I first entered Gaia. I fell into the pool next to Alexandria Castle and climbed aboard the Prima Vista. That's how everything started so long ago. Now, I was alone. I missed my friends already and wondered if things could have turned out differently if I had just been honest with them from the beginning. Maybe things would have turned out differently. We could have stopped Kuja earlier on if I had shared some of my knowledge.

_No, that wouldn't work,_ I quickly realized. Even if we were able to kill Kuja early, Innural would still be alive. I would have no way of killing him at all.

I finally breached the surface, taking my first breath on Terra. It was no different than Gaia, until I opened my eyes and wiped the water away. I expected to see a land full of alien life, different monsters perhaps, and tall trees with canopies shaped like saucers.

What I got, was a ruined city that had long ago stopped burning.

"What the hell…?" I wondered, as I skimmed the surface. This wasn't the Terra I had expected. Where were the trees? Where was Bran Bal? Where were the soulless Genomes? This wasn't where I was supposed to be.

I swam to the riverside, taking in all these new sights. There wasn't much to them though. Everything was grey and dark. These buildings looked like they hadn't been used for centuries. The ones that were still standing were impossibly high, dwarfing even the Dubai Tower. The rest were in the streets, having fallen victim to weathering. Rubble littered the streets and alleys around each building. I saw strange vehicles in the shape of a diamond with curved edges. They looked like they could have been the Terran equivalent of cars. I could tell by the seats, but they were so rusted up and foreign that that was where the similarities ended.

"This is unreal," I said to myself. Looking around, I couldn't see hide or hair of the others. "GUYS? …ZIDANE? DAGGER?"

My voice just echoed harmlessly off the streets. No one was around for miles as far as I could tell.

"Kaiten?" I asked the only remaining person around. "We made it to Terra. Do you have any idea where we are?"

I was greeted only by silence.

"Come on, just talk to me," I pleaded. "I haven't heard from you in days. I have no idea where I am!"

"**Kaiten is busy,**" came Damien's voice. It had been a while since I heard him, but not long enough. "**I am here though. I can help you.**"

"Not now Damien," I said. "We need to talk to Kaiten. He's the only one who can help us now."

"**Fool! What has he ever done to help you?**"

"He gave me emotional support and battle tactics," I said flatly. "And now, he can be our navigator. Just step aside and let him talk."

"**He is useless! Someone must be alive on this planet! Destroy everything you can until someone finds you, then you can torture the information out of them and find Innural!**"

"Torture…?"

To be honest, the idea sounded good. I could use someone to unwind against by bashing their head in a little. But then I realized, the only living things left on this planet were Garland, Innural, and the Genomes. Garland was Zidane's problem now, I had no idea where to search for Innural, but the Genomes? If any were around, they might be useful…

_No!_ I had to shout to myself. I had lost it enough. No more secrets and lies. No more unresolved anger. That was what had doomed me here alone in the first place. If I had the others, then maybe someone would be willing to help me in my search. Besides, the Genomes were harmless vessels, civilians without any souls waiting for the return of the Terran people.

When Terra fell into disrepair and was trapped within Gaia, its people were housed as pure souls in cryogenic stasis. The Genomes were created as the host bodies the Terrans would one day repossess. They walked, talked, ate, slept and reproduced like regular people, but without souls, they didn't think or feel. Torturing one would be just like torturing a small puppy that didn't understand why it was in pain or why someone would be cruel enough to hurt it.

Images passed through my mind, seeing a few Genomes after I had my time with them. They laid in puddles of blood, looking up in confusion, unsure what purpose or gains someone would have in hurting them. Violence was completely foreign to them.

"**What does it matter?**" Damien challenged me. "**Your goal is to destroy, so destroy!**"

"No that's not it!" I shot back. "I just want to save people and help Kaiten avenge his team!"

"**And destruction is the way you will save and avenge others!**"

"No, enough! I've already lost almost everything else! It'll be a miracle if I can ever get the others to talk to me again."

"**They are weak! They are USELESS!**"

"Shut UP! I'm done listening to you!"

"**You cannot avoid me! We are exactly the same! You should embrace me and become what you should always have been! Your life would be so much easier!**"

"I said I'm done Damien," I said fatally. "Goodbye."

Then, something I hadn't foreseen happened. "**DO NOT IGNORE ME!**"

Damien's voice came so loudly that I didn't have any resistance to it. My eyes trembled from the sheer force and my body quickly went numb. I fell down face first into a pile of soot, but I didn't feel the impact. I watched the world go darker, and soon fade into nothingness…

XXXXXXXX

There was a bright light when I awoke. Something pulsed at my eyes, like lights in a stadium. I opened my eyes slowly and was greeted by a world I hadn't seen in a while.

Everything was pure white, in all directions, as far as the eye could see. I was back within my subconscious, where Kaiten dwelled and the two of us had trained. I stood, peering into the depths of the world and saw a pulsing red wall far away. It shook and flashed, like an oncoming thunderstorm. I probably had only a few minutes before it reached me.

I had to find Kaiten in that time, wherever he was. Maybe the memory books would hold some clue as to what was going on. I turned to run, but the second I turned around, I saw something that horrified me.

"Kaiten?"

The man who had been the voice in my head for so long that I had lost track of it stood before me, hanging from a single pole sticking out of the floor. His hands and ankles were bound and he looked like he had been beaten badly. I rushed to his side and started untying the knots at once.

"Kaiten, wake up!" I shouted. "What the hell's going on? Where have you been?"

Kaiten turned his head down to me and stirred. "Tre…vor?" he said weakly. "What are… you doing here…?"

"Never mind," I decided. "Look, I'm gonna cut down your arms. Get ready to fall."

Kaiten only groaned.

Concentrating like once before, I summoned a short sword into my hand. Since this world was all inside my mind, matter and physics were all up to me to decide. I chose just a simple blade to help me this time, rather than the intricate swords I had used in battle and training with Kaiten.

With a single swing, the rope fell free, as did Kaiten. He collapsed flat on his face and didn't move until I ran next to him and draped his arm around my shoulder. He was weak. Whatever had done this to him had to have been strong. I barely beat him when we fought in here, and even then, one could argue that I cheated.

"C'mon, we're getting you away from here," I said. Looking over my shoulder, I could see the red wall drawing closer, chasing us. We had to move, and quickly. "Kaiten, which way is it to the memory books?"

"The… memory books?" he wheezed. "They're that way." He was too tired to point, so he nodded instead.

"Good. Now what the hell did this to you? I thought you were in Special Forces."

"I was," Kaiten said. He was soon able to move his legs again and kicked along as I carried him by the arm. "As for what did it…"

"Yeah?"

"You did."

I stopped for a moment to look at him curiously. "What the hell are you talking about? Why would I do something like this? And for that matter, how? I literally cut you in half the last time we fought and you came back like nothing had happened."

"It might have looked like that, but it wasn't 'like nothing'," he explained. "Coming back from the dead like that takes some energy out of me. And I don't know if it was you _exactly_, but he looked just like you."

My imagination began to run as I though of what he might possibly mean.

"He kept killing me over and over, just like you did, only he did it for the sake of doing it. The guy's completely sick. I think he said his name was—"

"Damien," I cut off.

Now, it was Kaiten's turn to give me a curious look. "How the hell did you know that?"

I sighed. I had done enough lying to my friends and it was what put me in this mess. If I lost Kaiten's trust, then there truly was no going back.

"Because, he's been talking to me, a lot like you've been doing. Ever since we got back from the Outer Continent, I've been hearing him, more and more, telling me to do violent things, encouraging me to pull away from my friends."

"And you've been LISTENING to him?"

"Well… only partially…"

"Trevor, while he was deceiving you, he was _killing_ me! You've been playing into his hands the entire goddamn time!"

"Yeah, I know that! But I'm done listening to him." Kaiten pulled himself free of me and we stood, face to face. "Look, Kaiten, we've made it to Terra, but we're alone. The others are nowhere around and I don't recognize the area."

"You don't remember it from the game?"

"This place isn't in the game. I thought you might know, but when I told Damien to let you talk, he refused and pulled me in here. That's when I found you."

"So, that explains that then." Kaiten looked over his shoulder and looked at the encroaching red wall. "We need to keep moving. 'Damien' is somewhere in that cloud of chaos over there. I have an idea, but I need your help for it."

"My help?" I asked. "How so?"

"You remember that room deeper within your subconscious from when we fought? You received a massive power boost from it. If we can get you down there again, you might be able to recover some of that power and kill Damien with it."

I remembered alright. The memory of that fight was burned into my mind like a scar…

_I dragged what was left of my sword along the grass. I pulled at it until it stuck on something. I looked down and saw something bubbling up beneath the surface. Something came up from the ground, like a square box. A second one followed, bubbling up right next to it._

_I examined the boxes closer, only to realize that they both books. In fact, they were both the same size as the memory books from the upper level._

_The blood was washed over it, covering the titles. I put my hand on the first book. It was warm at first, but it heated up and began to burn me. I pulled away quickly, but the heat from the book began to dry up some of the blood. Lighted lines crept over the book slowly._

"_Use…your anger…" came a voice in little more than a whisper. It was deep and dark. Somehow, something inside me told me to be afraid of it. "Kill…everyone…"_

_As I looked at the book, the burning in my hand intensified. A beam of light shot out and connected with my burn wound. The pain stopped in an instant and filled me with a new energy._

"_They will… betray you…" the voice said slowly. "They will…hurt you… Kill them first…"_

_The energy made my chest hot. It became harder to breath suddenly and the air grew hotter. My pulse doubled and my vision blurred. Everything in my mind became clearer. The world was kill or be killed…_

"No… that's not it," I realized, recalling the memory books buried in that field of blood. "That book… that anger…"

"Hmm?" Kaiten said. "Did you remember something?"

"I think… that's where Damien came from…"

"WHAT?"

I had to wrap my mind around it a few times before it truly made sense, but really, I hadn't been terribly angry before I opened that book. Plus, I had buried my anger, just like I had unintentionally buried my childhood memories. If that was the case, then was Damien really a part of me?

Were we the same thing?

"If that's the case then how the hell do we stop him?" Kaiten asked. "Because fighting him doesn't do jack shit!"

"What if I fought him?" I suggested.

"That hardly seems bright."

"No, think about it," I said. "I can manipulate reality in here. All I have to do is freeze time again and you should have an opening to kill him."

Kaiten was silent as he turned back and saw the red wall coming closer. He sighed. "Do you really think we have a chance?"

"It's the best one we have."

Kaiten took a deep breath as his blue plate armor spawned on his body. He pulled a pair of katanas from the back. "So, we really are on Terra?"

"We've gotta be," I assured him. I felt my creative energy flow through my hands as I recreated Crimson and Azure, the mystical blade the Black Mages had created for me, but that I had lost in the Iifa Tree. I would need to pull out all the stops if we were going to win this.

"I wonder if I can find my real swords again," Kaiten grinned.

"I'll keep an eye out for them after we win this," I smiled back.

We both turned to face the red wall. The ground shook as it breezed forward, overtaking the unfurnished land like a rolling fog.

"You ready?" Kaiten asked.

"Close enough," I said.

"Then let's go."

Kaiten led the charge and I quickly followed. We both roared in defiance as the red wall rushed back at us. We charged up our swords, I with Demon Sabers, and Kaiten with a set of Arcs ready to launch. As we neared ten feet, Kaiten attacked and ran with my swords in front of me.

However, our charge was in vain. The Arcs just ricocheted and my Demon Sabers were ground into glittering dust as they touched the wall. Kaiten and I crashed into it ourselves and were flung away like ragdolls. We each bounced several feet until we skidded to a halt.

"What the fuck was that?" I yelled as soon as we recovered.

"Hell if I know!" Kaiten shouted. "I've only fought him when he's human!"

I looked up at the cloud and saw it start to swirl in on itself. They shrank inwards, becoming denser and more solid. The smaller it got, the more it began to shape itself like a human, until it erupted outwards, leaving streaks of red clouds aiming right for us. Kaiten and I shielded ourselves, but the cloud particles passed us by harmlessly. When I opened my eyes, I saw Damien for the first time.

He looked just like me.

His hair was longer, sure, reaching all the way down his back, and his eyes looked a lot more callous, but other than that, he could have been a clone. I looked over at Kaiten, with his short hair and surprised frown. I remember thinking that he looked just like me when we first saw each other. The three of us could have been triplets. The fates seemed cruel enough to set us up like this at least.

"Hello Kaiten," Damien said with a demonic grin. "No surprise that you got out of that trap. And Trevor, I'm disappointed. You could have had so much more power."

"At what cost?" I asked. "I've already lost everything else. This isn't worth it!"

"To gain power, you always have to trade something," Damien argued. "Are you unwilling to lose even a small something?"

"That's a lie!" Kaiten shouted. "I started with nothing and got stronger when I gained my team! I never had to lose anything!"

"Then were you truly strong? Your team died under your watch, after all."

"How dare you, you arrogant FUCK!"

"It's not too late Trevor," Damien said, trying to tempt me. "If you kill Kaiten, then you can still join with me."

I narrowed my eyes. "I'd rather slit my own throat."

"Then you've made your choice. I'll just kill the both of you and take over this body."

Damien stepped back into a fighting stance and began powering himself up. A pair of broadswords sprouted from his back, literally growing from under his skin. They came with a fresh coat of blood on them. The crossguards were especially heavy to counterbalance the whole blade. They pointed out and towards the tip to gore anyone who was lucky enough to miss the blade itself.

Damien's "armor" came next. Blade plate armor covered his chest and his legs up to his knees. Chain mail covered the rest of his limbs, but what really stood out were the six scimitar blades that grew out of his back like wings. There were three blades to each side of his body. The three on his left curved downward while the three on his right curved up. This psychopath was a living weapon.

"You will not survive this," Damien said.

I saw Kaiten glance over and nod at me. "Trevor, let's not waste any time on this."

I nodded back, getting his hint with the word 'time'. I sheathed one short sword and concentrated my creative energies in my hand. A new blade with a blue and gold handle appeared, as well as a compartment to hold sand in the handle.

The Dagger of Time, just like before.

"We'll make this quick," I said, pressing the button on the handle. Time immediately slowed to a halt. Kaiten's eyes darted from me to Damien, but as I perceived it, he was moving as lazily as could be. I only had a limited time before the sands ran out, so I rushed forward. I powered up another Demon Saber on my remaining short sword.

I swung as I came close to Damien, knowing that if I cut him in half, this would be over and Kaiten could recover. However, as the blade swung Damien moved to block it, matching my speed. It should have been impossible, but he gazed right at me, grinning in his superiority.

"You've really fucked up, haven't you?" he taunted.

Somehow, the Dagger of Time didn't affect Damien. I didn't understand why until I saw a matching dagger in his hands.

My eyes shot open. "How did you—"

"Anything you can do, I can do better."

Damien swung a broadsword at me, knocking the Dagger of Time out of my hands. The flow of time returned to normal and Damien pressed the attack. He swung a blade up, knocking me into the air. I felt him kick me with much more force. I couldn't breath from the wind being knocked out of me, and being tossed into the air made me lose track of where I was. It wasn't until I crashed back at Kaiten's feet that I finally started to get my bearings back.

"Trevor!" Kaiten yelled. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said, coughing to get my breath back. "Plan A won't work though."

Damien just laughed in his little corner. "I have every ability that you do up here, and I'm a better fighter than Kaiten. Even if you combine your strengths, what chance do you have?"

My mind raced as I tried to come up with something new that I could use against him. The Soul Reaver? No, that sword wasn't fast enough. A Keyblade again? Not enough of an edge. Maybe some kind of demon-killing blade? No. Damien was the true Dual-Wielding Demon…

"Trevor!"

Kaiten's yelled snapped me back into focus. Damien had dashed forward so quickly that I hadn't even noticed, but he was aiming for us with his wings. Kaiten and I both leapt into the air, using our powers over the subconscious to stay afloat, but that didn't do us much good. Damien jumped, flying straight for us.

The tip of his first wing sank into Kaiten's armor, cracking it a little. Before I could call out for my ally, Damien spun. He threw Kaiten to the floor with his first wing while at the same time swinging his second wing at me. The curved edges slashed into my chest, drawing a small spurt of blood. My armor did little to help me, though it had probably just saved me from losing an organ or two.

Damien spun once more, crashing a broadsword into my shoulder, knocking me to the ground. More blood soaked out of me and stained the white ground. I picked myself up quickly pressing my hand against the wound, trying to close it.

"Taking him one on one isn't going to work!" Kaiten shouted over at me. He had repaired his armor, but I could see some blood dripping from his hemline. He looked like he was at his limit for what he could heal. "We have to go after him together."

I took a deep breath in, trying to heal myself as well. I left the armor damaged as it was, but mended the skin as best I could. I was hardly a white mage though, and in the combat stress was only able to repair a single layer of skin. "He's using a pair of broadswords," I said. "Weapons designed for strength and single usage. Dual wielding just slows him down. Your katanas are designed for finesse and my short swords are designed for dexterity. If we can force him to separate his focus, we can overpower him."

Kaiten nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

Damien landed from flight one foot at a time, acting as elegant as a prince at a ball would. He flapped both of his wings quickly, flicking the blood off of them. "What are you planning now? You do realize that even if you give up now, you'll just be absorbed into my consciousness, right? You might as well fight to make it fun."

"I'll take the right side," Kaiten said. "You take the left."

"Got it," I nodded.

Damien raised an eyebrow at our antics, but didn't seem threatened by us in the slightest. "What's this?"

"GO!"

Kaiten's call led us both into action. He flanked right and I flanked left, both of us arcing in a wide circle to Damien's sides. Damien didn't move and instead watched us with an amused smirk. When Kaiten and I made our next move, attacking both his left and right, he was ready. His broadswords met out blades without a wasted movement.

Kaiten started using his range and agility to his advantage as I started using my dexterity and speed. Blade crashed against blade in a ridiculous staccato. Metal rang out like rain drops. Damien was somehow able to counter our every move. Just when I thought I would have a chance to slip in through his defenses, Damien would counter me, then twist his blade to attack me. Kaiten was having just as much trouble, despite his years of military training. However Damien learned to fight, he was better than both of us.

"This is bothersome," Damien muttered. "I want to finish you both off one at a time."

As Kaiten and I struck again, Damien met our blades, forcing us into place by slamming his blades to the ground and trapping our own under them. It was only then that I noticed that his hands were glowing. A small purple orb glowed on his knuckles. I tried to pull back, but I didn't have enough time as the orbs exploded, sending me flying across the realm. I quickly lost sight of Kaiten over the horizon in the far distance.

It felt like I flew for several minutes, though in my haste, it was probably only twenty seconds. When I finally did land, I bounced high, opening my side wound again. Blood spilled onto the ground, leaving a trail as I bounced several more times, finally leaving one long blood slick as I slid to a halt.

"God… fucking dammit…" I breathed. I coughed again, unable to breath properly. I placed a hand on my side and healed the single layer of skin again, but my head was getting woozy. I couldn't keep getting beaten up like this.

Standing up, I couldn't see Kaiten anywhere. There was an eerie silence. I almost expected to hear a breeze brush through my hair, signifying my solitude, but somehow, the absence of anything in this white wasteland made me feel more dread.

I looked up to the sky as I noticed something odd. I had to rub my eyes in disbelief, but it looked like part of the sky was turning black. It wasn't completely unlike a thunder cloud forming above me, but rain shouldn't exist in this realm unless I willed it.

"Wonderful, isn't it?"

I spun and saw Damien floating behind me. He even flapped his wings for effect. "I just started my take over and you can already see the results coming in."

"You mean that's you?" I asked, pointing up.

"Because of me, yes," he nodded. "Soon, this entire place will shift. It will be my perfect subconscious, devoid of anything. No petty friendships, no inabilities… Just solitude and the freedom to do whatever I fucking want. Isn't that what everyone strives for? The freedom to pursue their dreams?"

"What the hell could a psychopath like you want?" I asked, standing on shaking legs. My blood loss was getting to me.

"Why, the freedom to do whatever I god damn please," Damien said, taking several slow steps towards me. "With your powers and my battle prowess, I will be unstoppable. I can conquer nations and entire armies! And I'll start by destroying what's left of this pathetic planet! First Innural, then Garland, then the Genomes."

I took a hesitant step back as Damien stood only a foot away from me.

"That's what you want to, isn't it?" he asked. "To kill Innural? To get revenge on what he did to us?"

I shook my head. "Not at the cost of losing myself."

"Poor boy," Damien chuckled. "You won't lose yourself." He reached out faster than I could see and grabbed me by the neck. He lifted me with one hand like I was no heavier than a book. "I'm going to kill you and take over your body. There's nothing of 'yourself' to lose!"

Damien spun around once, then threw me. I shut my eyes and prepared for impact on the hard ground, but didn't expect to crash into a pile of barbs. Sharp points jabbed at my sides and arms, throwing several of them aside from my impact. Opening my eyes however, revealed that I had landed on the pile of memory books. Several of them had gone flying away, opening to certain pages and soon revealing the memories inside.

One book was from a trip to New York City. A busy intersection surrounded by tall buildings opened up, but between the competing memory books, there was only space for one street. My father and I were touring the place, enjoying the sights and the foods. I had a hot dog that was probably laced with rat meat, but I didn't care. It was a good bonding experience.

An adjacent book revealed a high school class trip to the Appalachian Mountains. Tall trees lined up on a hill that stretched most of the way to the dark clouds above. I saw my class walking along a beaten path, listening to the teacher prattle on about the types of trees we were seeing.

The last image on the other side of the New York street to compete for attention was a familiar scene deep in my back yard. I could see myself standing by a bush, holding a large super soaker. I remembered…

_NO!_ I realized. I had to stay away from that scene. Already I could feel my mind starting to overload from the memories flooding back all at once. I staggered out of the pile of books, gripping my head, unable to even see straight.

"What's the matter?" Damien taunted. "Got a headache?"

"You're a little bitch," I said. My legs could barely hold me up, but I still armed myself and prepared to defend.

"I wonder what would happen if we put a few more books out?" Damien wondered, grabbing two more books. He threw them both haphazardly behind himself. They both opened, showing sheet music. Pachelbel's Canon started playing from one, while Blind Guardian's Scalds and Shadows played from the other.

Damien's plan was working. The books quickly made me lose focus. My mind jumped from memory to memory as I played each song in my head at the same time, forced to concentrate on them in perfect sync. I made the only move I could and ran away, towards the mountains.

"Aww… don't go away angry!" Damien called after me, followed by a sick laugh.

I ignored him. It was hard enough to run as it was. If I didn't close those books, then I wouldn't be able to fight at all. I wasn't about to flail around helplessly while Damien tore me apart.

I arrived and hid behind the first tree I found. Looking around, I couldn't see Damien at all. The class group I had been a part of had long since left. Maybe if I was lucky Damien would mistake the memory version of myself for me and chase after him. Right, like he would fall for that.

I ran towards the peak of the mountain. The memory books always sat at the epicenter of these panoramic scenes. It had to be somewhere near the middle of it all. I stuck to the trails. As much as I hated being in the open, running through the brush would make too much noise. For added camouflage, I changed my clothes. Jeans and a blue shirt did nicely, but my hair still gave me away.

I ran my hands over my face and folded my hair over once. Soon, I felt it shortening as it also grew darker. I plucked one hair and saw that I now had short, curly brown hair. I looked like a jock from class named Paul. He was always a little slow. If Damien could read my mind like Kaiten could, then he would know that.

I ran, making good progress. I had made it most of the way up when a certain someone caught up with me.

"Excuse me," Damien said, flying beside me. "I'm looking for someone. See, I'm trying to kill him."

I had to stick to my disguise. Maybe Damien would buy it and leave me alone. It sounded completely unlikely, but it was the best chance I had at survival right now. I just paced myself. Never breaking stride or acknowledging Damien's presence.

"Oh, that's right," Damien said. "You're just a memory. An illusion in this vast emptiness. You can't even see me, can you?"

Damien flew directly in front of me, sticking his face right in mine. It took every ounce of concentration that I had not to break my camo or let him freak me out.

A sick grin spread on Damien's face. He flew several feet ahead of me on the path and stood in my way. "Well, if that's the case, then you won't stop for this, will you?" He held a broadsword out, waiting for me to impale myself on.

I stared in horror. I didn't have the strength to fight Damien, but I couldn't just stop now. The book had to be around here somewhere.

I ran closer to the waiting blade, until I had no choice but to act. I reached across myself to my hip and materialized Crimson instantly and swiped it across the broadsword. Damien just laughed as if he expected me to do just that. I kept running, but he grabbed me by the back of the neck.

"Looking for that book, huh?" he taunted. "Here, let me help!"

Damien started flying again, dragging me along. He drove me into the ground, forcing me to drop my disguise. I fought to keep all the skin attached to myself that I could, but being ground against a mountainside like it was sandpaper made that impossible. Blood trailed behind us like a smoke trail from a jet.

Suddenly, I was lifted up and thrown into the air. I had only an instant to react before Damien appeared above me. He slashed down with one sword, catching my armor, but knocking me down into the mountaintop.

There, I lay for a moment, unable to move or even breath. I had cratered into the ground. I pulled myself up as quickly as I could, but that wasn't very fast at all. However, my hand felt something heavy and unnatural just outside the crater walls. I pressed my hand into it and looked up, peering at the memory book. I pulled it closer towards myself.

"HEADS UP!"

I glanced up and saw Damien flying straight down at me. I had only seconds to react. Thinking quickly, I pulled the book close and shut it. The memory instantly faded and returned to the plain white floor coloration as the mountain bulge began to deflate rapidly. It caved in at just the right moment though, sending me rolling one way, missing Damien's attack my inches.

I continued rolling down the shrinking hill until I crashed against a tall building. I looked up and saw more of a busy street intersection. People stepped on me, unable to even see me. Yeah, that was New York alright.

I stood and noticed that it was already getting easier to concentrate. I put the memory book down underneath a mailbox, hopefully where Damien wouldn't notice it. I had to find the next one, and soon. This time, however, I had the advantage of fitting in with the crowd. Hundreds of people lined the streets, chatted on cell phones and entered buildings. There was even a crew working on a sewer system. I could search for hours without ever being noticed.

"Alright, where are you?" Damien cried over the crowd. His voice was distinct over the city din, perhaps because it was real and not a mere memory. Either way, I wasn't even about to look up at him. I smiled at my unexpected advantage.

"Show yourself you coward!" Damien shouted angrily. He descended into the crowd across the street and began taking swings at passersby, cutting through them, but making no effect.

_Bite me asshat,_ I said to myself as I began my search.

There may have been only one street, but the book could have been anywhere. I looked in the street between the cars, but didn't see anything there. If the book wasn't in the middle of the street, then where could it be? I remembered that part of the memory had been cut off due to the other two memories surrounding it. Well, that just made life harder. If that was the case, then the center of the memory could have been anywhere.

I looked back at Damien. He was still clueless. I took a breath to settle myself. I had all the time in the world. Now where to start looking…

"Enough of this!" Damien said, floating over the street. "I know you're here Trevor! If you won't come out and fight fair, then I'll have to flush you out!"

I kept walking, but looked at him out of the corner of my eyes. He held both of his broadswords in front of himself, one tip pointed to the sky and one pointed to the ground. They both started to glow with purple energy. A beam shot down from the swords into the ground, like a beam of light from heaven.

"PILLAR!" Damien shouted.

Soon, the light grew. It expended, taking up the room of the street. The sidewalks were soon destroyed and reduced to rubble as the citizens were lost behind the beam. The energy soon cracked the foundations of the nearby buildings as well as the energy spread out like an expanding wall of destruction.

_He can alter the memories? _I questioned. Kaiten and I had never been able to interact with the images we saw, but somehow, Damien was causing widespread chaos. As the pillar neared me, I knew that I had to get out of there, but I couldn't pass through buildings and the streets were too long.

My only escape was up.

I leapt into the air, flying twenty… thirty… forty stories into the sky. I saw the pillar pass by underneath me, finishing off the remainder of the street. The attack wasn't nearly strong enough to reach anywhere near me, but I wasn't about to underestimate Damien. I was at his mercy enough as it was.

"Gotcha!"

I looked over and saw Damien flying straight for me. He swung a broadsword into my side, flinging me into the nearest office building. I broke through a windowsill made of three-foot thick steel and concrete. I tumbled in a dark floor, lit only by the thin beams of sunlight coming through the blinds, and now the gaping hole I had left in the wall. Just like the subconscious realm normally was, this place was completely unfurnished. I wondered why for a moment, and then I realized that it was because I had never been up here, but I could figure out accurately enough what the floor plan would be.

I finally skidded to a halt. The only thing around me was a support beam in the middle of the floor, matching a few others scattered across the wide area. The place was so bare that it looked like it was still under construction.

"Well, that was fun," Damien said. "I've had a good time today. I hope you did to."

I tried to respond, but I could only cough up a mouthful of blood.

"Well good!" Damien said excitedly. "But, like everything else…" His voice suddenly grew dark and cold. "All good things come to an end."

He raised a broadsword to strike. I tried to raise a short sword to block, but I was still dazed from the blow I had taken breaking into the building. I could only hold the blade weakly and unsteadily. A child would have been strong enough to knock it out of my hands. I stared at Damien's evil grin, wondering what death would feel like.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Several loud crashed resonated throughout the floors below, coming closer with each blast. I glanced over just in time to see Kaiten explode through the floor, swords in hand. He rushed Damien faster than I had ever seen him move and struck with both swords in unison. Damien didn't have time to react and was flung upwards, through the floor above us and towards the windows. Seconds later, I heard a crash as windowpanes shattered stories above us.

"Trevor, are you alright?" Kaiten asked, kneeling by my side.

He held me gently, carrying me by the back and supporting my head so I could sit up. I put a hand on my chest and began healing myself again.

"Oh god," I wheezed. "I can't keep doing this."

"Well, you'll have to," Kaiten said, setting me back down. "I don't see how we can beat him, unless you have some sort of a plan."

"Nothing," I admitted. "I can't even get close to him."

"And I got lucky with that last hit. I doubt he'll fall for it again."

"Then what?" I asked. "Wait until he gets tired? Imagine a nuke and pray it doesn't kill us too?"

"No. We're already at our limits and he's just been toying with us so far."

"Well, I nearly had him when I slipped into the crowd in this memory. Maybe we can do the same and sneak up behind him?"

Kaiten sighed, gazing towards the windows. "I don't like it. I mean, he destroyed everything on the street down there. He'll just do the same."

"Great," I said, running my hands across my face. "Then I'm out of ideas." I felt a pounding in my head and soon remembered my task of finding the remaining memory books.

"Are you alright?" Kaiten asked.

I was tired and wanted to keep laying down, plus, I was literally having a fight to the death inside my head. I was far from alright, but Kaiten knew that already. "It's just my head," I said. "All these memories at once is a little draining."

"Good thing I took care of the two music books before I got here." He looked around, then perked up for a moment. "At least you crashed into the right floor. Look over there!"

I turned over and saw what Kaiten saw. The memory book was sitting open just a few feet away. "Good," I breathed. I stood and started walking towards it. Kaiten bent down and picked up the book, grinning at me.

"One to go," he said.

"One?" I remembered. "You mean you didn't close the memory of the field?"

"Sorry, but I saw you get thrown through a building. I had my priorities."

"But you don't get it! That memory—"

"Hi guys!" came a voice from the window behind us. "Miss me?"

Damien was smiling at us like he was seeing some long lost friends. However, his bladed wings were stretched wide and his swords cracked with power. Purple lightning bolts danced up and down the blade. Getting hit by those would probably kill us now.

Kaiten and I stood ready. I held Crimson and Azure again, actually able to defend myself this time, while Kaiten held the book and one of his katanas. I looked around frantically, searching for a way out.

"I have to admit Kaiten, that was a good trick," Damien complimented as he hovered closer. "Powering your swords up with Purple magic to increase how hard they hit? It's no wonder you made it to lieutenant."

But Kaiten and I were ignoring him. We were both on edge as Damien got closer inch by inch.

"Any ideas?" Kaiten asked.

My searching finally came to an end when I saw the hole Damien created when Kaiten smashed him through the ceiling. It had destroyed one of the support beams for the entire floor. And Damien was approaching the next one over.

"Just one," I whispered. "Keep the book open and get ready to run."

I took a step up in front of Kaiten and powered an explosion on Azure. I kept my eyes dead on Damien though, lest he discover what I was about to do.

"Ooh, coming forward, are we?" Damien smirked. "I guess I'll make your death quick then as a 'thank you'. Bad luck for you though Kaiten. I'll still want some fun when our 'host' is dead."

"Hey Damien?" I asked innocently at first.

"Hmm? Last words? I don't think they count if they're inside your head."

"Then how about you just hold still for a moment?"

Damien raised an eyebrow as I tossed Azure straight for him. The Explosion-tipped blade spun wildly, flipping blade-over-pommel. Damien dodged at the last second, watching as the blue short sword swung passed him and landed on the floor a few feet behind him. The energy released and exploded, leaving a hole in the ground big enough to jump through.

Damien turned and laughed at my pitiful attempt to attack him. "Boy, I tell ya," he laughed. "If that was your best, then I'm surprised that you…"

Damien droned off as he suddenly realized that Azure had just been a distraction. Crimson now flew at him, aimed slightly higher, and capped with an Explosion as well. It struck the ceiling right next to the support beam, blowing up and destroying the building's main means of support. The explosion itself didn't harm Damien much, but then again, it was never meant to.

I turned to Kaiten. "RUN!"

No sooner did we turn around then the ceiling started to collapse. Damien was caught in the rubble and falling rebar as tons upon tons of steel and concrete fell upon him, forcing him through forty stories all the way to the foundation. I soon lost sight of him as the floor began to give way.

Kaiten and I took off like darts, running as fast as we could to the closest wall of windows as the floor broke off just behind our feet. I didn't dare look back for even a second. Even if I missed the immediate rubble from the floor above me, there were still another twenty floors of building coming down all at once.

Kaiten hugged the book to his chest and powered up his katana as we neared the glass. "Get ready to jump!" he shouted over the breaking building. I didn't even have to nod as he sent three Arcs soaring through for the windows. They broke through easily, weakening the frames so we could escape.

At the last second, we jumped through together, leaping as the last of the fortieth floor gave out from underneath us. Glass broke everywhere, shooting off in every direction around us.

No sooner had we escaped before we started falling. I wasn't as afraid as I should have been because I could fly, but my strength wasn't even a quarter full. I could slow myself, but that was about it. I reached up to Kaiten, hoping he could help me, but he was having the same problem.

Thirty stories to go.

We grabbed each other's hands, holding on to each other as the wind streaked passed us. It was impossible to talk from the wind sheer, but we had been working together long enough to know what to do.

Twenty stories to go.

I imagined another version of Crimson in my free hand. Kaiten meanwhile had dropped his katana and clutched on to the book for dear life. If he closed it now, while the building was still collapsing, then the remains would disappear and our plan would fail. We had to keep it open no matter what.

Ten stories to go.

The building fell at the same rate we did, raining bricks and chunks of concrete all around us. It was hard to believe this was all happening right now. Kaiten pushed us farther away from the block, but we still had the problem of downward velocity.

Kaiten kept us level, falling slowly enough that the fall wouldn't kill us, but not slow enough to stop or come out unscathed. Broken bones were our only other option if I couldn't pull my part off.

Five stories to go.

As we closed the gap between us and the ground, Kaiten put everything he could into not only slowing us, but spinning us backwards, like we were doing a flip. I charged Crimson with as much spare energy as I had. The Explosion was more than a foot in diameter and I prayed that it would be enough.

One story to go.

With the brakes on full and us falling upside-down, I threw Crimson into the field below, releasing the Explosion. Kaiten and I huddled together as the shockwave met us, blasting against us and aiding our descent. It wasn't enough to stop us, but when we landed in the fresh crater half a second later, we only had all our wind knocked out of us. Dirt fell back onto us, followed closely by shattered glass. However, the dirt blanketed us, protecting us from the debris.

Everything soon went dark.

We waited for what felt like minutes for the shaking ground and the sounds of destruction to stop. When the last piece of rubble fell, we both waited for another few second before pushing ourselves up.

Kaiten and I both push-uped our way to fresh air like emerging zombies. We were covered in dirt and panted hard, but one look at the scene still behind us and we couldn't help but laugh out of relief. It was a desperate move, but it seemed to work. Damien was now trapped under thousands of tons of ruined building, or maybe even dead. It was the closest we could hope to a victory.

I started with a grin that Kaiten quickly matched. We soon started laughing from excitement, which climaxed into laughter of relief. We had used almost all of our energy fighting an impossible enemy and only won after using a risky and extremely destructive tactic.

"God damn," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "That was way too hard."

"It's a good chance to catch our breath," Kaiten said. "I thought we couldn't affect the memories though. How were you able to destroy the building?"

"Oh, that's simple," I explained. "I found out after Damien murdered those people in the streets and knocked me into the building that it had gone from memory to thought. If it's a thought, we can alter it."

Kaiten nodded. "That might be useful to us if he's still alive."

"For now, let's just chill," I said. "I wonder how many laws of physics we just defied."

"I'd say a lot," Kaiten said. "We should be pudding right about now."

A wide smile spread across my face. "My father would be proud of me."

Kaiten folded his arms and frowned at me. "That enough of a rest," he scolded. "If we don't make sure Damien is dead now, we might not get another chance."

I just folded my arms above me head. "Just give me a minute to recover." I stared up at the sky. I knew what memory was behind me on the other side of the woods, but as long as I didn't look back, I didn't have to think about or acknowledge it. Kaiten could close the book there for me.

"Alright, minute's up," Kaiten said after ten seconds. "Now let's get back to work. If we're really on Terra, then I don't want to waste any more time fighting this guy than I have to."

I rose, sighing and running a hand over my face. "Right, right. Can't blame me for trying to relax after that."

I was expecting some criticism from Kaiten, or maybe a sharp quip, but instead, he just stared at me wide-eyed. It was odd and out of place for him.

"Kaiten?" I asked. "What are you doing? Didn't we need to 'get back to work'?"

I understood all too well what had happened when the broadsword finished digging its way through Kaiten's stomach. It pierced through, sending a shower of blood at me. A second sword shot through him just below the first and Kaiten was raised into the air, over a very angry looking Damien.

"Now that was clever," Damien said. "But, it pissed me off, so I'm gonna have to finish you both off nice and quickly."

With little more than a tug at his swords, Damien ripped Kaiten in half. I wouldn't have been too worried for Kaiten, expect for Damien torturing him before I entered the realm. Kaiten said that he was so weak that he probably wouldn't survive another death, and right now, those words were echoing in my mind.

Kaiten's torso went one way while his legs went the other. He dropped the book, which closed, taking away the image of the ruined building and street. I looked on as his blood poured out of his stomach, faster than he could shovel back in. I imagined that dying a second time would have been especially terrifying. Even worse, with Damien standing between us, there was nothing I could do.

"Kaiten!" I shouted in terror.

"R…ruun…" he muttered weakly.

"That's enough out of you," Damien said, swinging his broadsword in Kaiten's direction. The next thing I knew, the ground exploded as a purple pillar leapt from the floor, engulfing Kaiten. There was no scream or cry, and I could only hope no pain, because when the beam dissipated, there was no Kaiten.

I stared at the spot in horror for a moment. My only friend left in this game was now gone. There wasn't even a scorch mark where he once lay. Everything was barren, white and sterile.

"Kaiten?" I shouted, hoping that his body had simply been blasted away. But even a small scan revealed nothing. There was only Damien, myself, and the one remaining memory just behind me. "Where are you!"

"Is it really that hard to accept?" Damien asked. "You failed to keep him alive, and now, you're going to join him."

My eyes started to well up, but from fear or losing Kaiten, I couldn't tell. "You're a fucking monster."

"Yeah, I really don't care," Damien said, swinging his sword at me as well.

I dodged, rolling to the side as the earth exploded beneath where I was standing just a second ago. I looked up just in time to see Damien taking another swing. I rolled again, but soon realized that I couldn't stay here. Damien had every advantage. I was going to have to get a sneak attack in, and that meant hiding in the woods.

It also meant seeing the memory again.

As the ground erupted behind me, I simply took off, no longer caring whether or not I relived this accursed memory. Now I had to kill Damien and avenge Kaiten and his men on my own. If that meant being uncomfortable and hating myself for a little while, then so be it.

I ducked and weaved through the tall trees, making sure to use the bushes as cover as best I could. Damien took his time making it through the woods. He floated again, but blew up every tree in his way one by one. At least I had a few moments of distance ahead of him.

There had to be something I could do against Damien. Some memory I could pull out. Maybe some thought I could construct from a memory, but where could I find one? I already missed Kaiten terribly. I needed him here by my side in this impossible fight.

Knowing that I had to do this on my own, I just ran forward, taking a turn in the woods. I knew exactly where it would take me, but if Damien knew these woods too, then he knew that I would never go this way.

After a few moments and charging through several bushes, I came to a clearing. I was in the backyard of a nice home. The whole house was stained brown to match the trees around it. There was a large back porch, decorated with flowers in adjacent gardens, potted plants, and chairs around a wire-frame table.

I knew this place well. I grew up here.

"Shadow?" came a surprised cry from nearby.

I turned to the sudden sound and walked closer. Around the side of the house, there was a large field where I used to play with Shadow when he stayed at my house. Nicole, who I was still dating at the time of this memory, would take care of him most of the time, but since Shadow was both our 'adopted' puppy, we thought it was only fair to split him between us. My house had more room for the little border collie to run around anyway.

Several explosion passed by in the woods. Damien was still trying to find me, but was going the wrong way. It wouldn't be long before he found me, I knew, but at least I had a moment of safety.

It was a hot day in June. The heat made it feel like it was over eighty degrees out, which gave us a perfect chance to play Shadow's favorite game right after catch; water gun attack dog. I would stand in place with a water gun and shoot it into the air. Shadow, curious why water would fly around like that, would chase after it and try to bite it, which he usually did. It seemed I had missed most of the memory playing during the fight with Damien. This particular memory was after nearly forty minutes of playing.

However, the game had been over for a few minutes. I had dropped the gun and was now holding Shadow in my lap. Not out of affection, but because Shadow had very labored breathing and had thrown up. I didn't know it at the time, but the heat, combined with nonstop running around, had made Shadow very sick.

Shadow was going to be dead from heat stroke in minutes.

My past self had no way of knowing that, of course. Shadow was still breathing hard, but he had calmed down for the most part and just seemed tired. If I had just helped cool him down somehow… If I had just thrown him into a bath of ice water… or maybe just take him inside where the AC was on. But no. In my stupidity, I left him outside, where he would die.

"There you are," my past self said, stroking Shadow's fur. "Feeling better fuzzball?"

However, I soon noticed that Shadow stopped panting. He might have slowly faded away, or simply stopped altogether, but even rewatching the memory, I wasn't sure.

"Shadow?"

It was too late. I sat down next to my old self, watching the little puppy. When Nicole and I found him, he was barely a month old. Now, he was six months, and my carelessness had gotten him killed.

"Shadow!"

Both my past self and I looked up to see Nicole running in. She saw Shadow, lying motionless, tongue hanging out in mid-pant. It was obvious that he was dead.

"Trevor?" Nicole asked horrified, tears starting to form in her eyes. "What happened to him?"

"I… I don't know!" my younger self answered honestly. "We were just playing, then he fell over and threw up!"

Nicole looked over and saw the water gun a few feet behind us. "You were playing that stupid water gun game? What did I tell you about that! It's dangerous! How much did you make him drink?"

"I… I don't know. He looked like he was having fun and I lost track of time…"

"You lost track of time? How long were you playing?"

"I don't know! Maybe…"

"HOW LONG?"

"Half an hour, maybe?"

"Half an hour? Did you ever stop to think about what you were doing to him?"

"But he was having fun!"

"He's a puppy! He doesn't know any better!"

By now, Nicole's eyes were full of tears and her cheeks were blood red. "He wasn't even that old Trevor! How can you be so cruel?"

"I wasn't trying to be mean!" my past self said, finally getting defensive. "Look, if you'll calm down for a sec, I can explain this."

But Nicole just pushed away, running back to the pathway that led through the woods to her house. "I hate you! I never want to see you again!"

"Nicole, hold on!" I shouted. "Let me explain!"

But Nicole slapped me as hard as she could and screamed, "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" My past self could only stare at her, dumbfounded, as she ran away.

I never saw her again after that.

I tried calling her after that, staying in contact, but she would just hang up. I tried leaving flowers at her front door, begging for forgiveness, but she never responded. In a brief instant, I lost the two most important things in my life. Now, all I had was a broken heart and a dead dog.

That moment occurred just two months before I left for college. It changed me dramatically, forced me to become more mellow and withdrawn. I had often been angry with Shadow as we raised him since he wasn't house broken and I would always wake up to a fresh stain on the rug. Now, in my guilt of those moments and yelling at him, I resolved to banish my anger. It was the only way I could atone for what I had done.

I had been lost in my thoughts, so I missed it when the final explosion blew up an entire line of trees behind me.

"There you are," an ever-patient Damien said. "I didn't expect to find you here."

However, I didn't even turn to face him. I was having trouble dealing with what I was seeing. I tried to repress my anger for the moment, but I was so angry, that I couldn't hold it back. Not at Damien though, or even the situation.

I hated myself.

I had done so many things wrong. I was so stupid. If I had only paid attention, so many things could have been better. Shadow would be alive, and Nicole and I might still be together. I could have been happy…

"Not even going to talk to me?" Damien said. "That's fine. I'm not in the mood for chatting anyway."

I could hear Damien stepping closer. His broadswords rang out on the ground as he dragged them through the grass. I didn't care anymore. I was tired of running. If I was going to die, then I was going to die fighting…

"Not even going to try?" Damien asked. "That's just fine with me."

…But while I was going down, I was taking Damien with me.

A sharp bird's call resounded through the air as a tiny spark blasted out of my chest. More bird calls and more sparks followed as the light they created formed around me and became like a coat of armor. The light surrounded me completely, changing my appearance. I glowed a metallic green as power swam through my veins. Hatred made me strong, maybe even strong enough to finally kill Damien.

Trance. How I missed this feeling.

"What's this?" Damien asked. "You think this'll help you?"

I didn't answer Damien at first. Instead, I walked onto the back desk of the memory. The book projecting these horrid images had been sitting there the whole time. I had no more need of the memory. I had gotten what I came to get out of it. I closed the book and let the images die.

"So you've tranced? Is that it?" Damien asked. "You think you still have a chance?"

My answer came when I bolted over to him, faster than he could see, and honestly, faster than I could comprehend. It was just short of teleportation and now I had a short sword aimed right for his neck. However, Damien reacted at the last instant, parrying my attack. Much to his surprise though, I had finally gotten a hit, as shown by the trail of blood now creeping down his neck.

"You lucky son of a bitch," Damien gasped, holding his neck. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"There won't be time," I said cryptically. "You die now!" 

I instantly charged my blades with Demon Sabers, tripling their normal length while doing nothing to hinder their movement. I took a series of swings at Damien, which he barely had time to block. His blade were charged with a similar energy, which meant I couldn't cut through them, but his twin broadswords were now more of a hindrance than anything else. Their excessive weight made it extremely difficult for him to keep up with me. Hair was burned and armor was scratched. In one swing, I was able to cut off three of the blades on his back, severing a wing. Damien just snarled and pressed the attack.

I had no problem anticipating his every move in Trance. My speed and reaction time were up tenfold, but I was still on a timer before the power ran out. I parried everything Damien threw at me, then threw in a counter. In an instant, I shortened the entire Demon Saber sprouting from Crimson into an Explosion. Damien didn't see it in time and crashed his broadsword into it, blowing it up.

The explosion overtook both of us, but Damien took far more damage. He was blasted backward, over towards the pile of memory books. I had to finish him quickly, before he could recover. I sank the rest of my power into my blades, charging them with the biggest Demon Sabers that I could. They soon stood four times the normal length of the blade, now dwarfing me. I brought my blades to my side just as Damien stood again.

"You!" Damien muttered, coughing up a trickle of blood. "I'm going to rip your arms off, then torture you for days on end!"

"You won't get the chance! This will end you!" I shouted. I crashed the two short swords together as quickly as I cold, releasing all of that potent energy out before me. "Devil's Cry!"

The energy swelled for a moment, then shot forth like a laser. The beam was easily the size of a truck. Damien tried blocking with his broadswords crossed before him, but he was barely stopping regular Demon Sabers before. This would do nothing for him.

Soon, the impact came upon him. The light was blinding and everything shook. Maybe it was because it was all taking place within my head, but I could feel a sudden lightness. It could also have been from pure exertion, but as soon as the shaking stopped, so did my Trance. The light faded away from me, and all I was left was were glimmers of light next to the pile of memory books.

I sighed, falling to my knees. After all that, Damien was finally finished. And all I had to do was lose Kaiten, see one of my most hated memories and go into Trance. The loss almost made it seem like it wasn't worth it. Kaiten was dead because I wasn't honest with him. I had to hold my arms across my chest just to make sure I could still feel.

"Wow. That was a close one."

I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stick up as the light cleared, and Damien stood, holding a pile of ash in one hand, and the spine of a book in another.

"You very nearly got me," he gloated. "Too bad you put me next to this easily moved pile of shields." He shook the spine of the book in his hand and let the ash fall to the floor. "I wonder what book this was. What memories do you no longer have?"

I gripped my head in horror. In my attempts to kill him, I only destroyed a part of myself. It was probably something important too, but what? How to cook? No, I could remember that. My time spent abroad? No, I had that too? My stomach turned as I soon understood that if I truly forgot those memories, then I would probably never be able to know what I even lost. It was a sick punishment from a sick bastard.

"Why the fuck won't you die?" I shouted.

Damien grinned. "Because I don't want to."

Without Trance, I had nothing to fight Damien with. I held my short swords out as best as I could, but exhaustion was getting the best of me, and Damien knew it. He rushed me, swinging a single broadsword at me. I blocked most of the hit, but it wasn't good enough. He cut me deep, piercing my armor and spilling my blood all over the pristine white floor. I dropped my guard and my short swords and he grabbed me by the neck again, lifting me up like I was nothing.

"I am very angry with you," Damien grinned. "And I'm going to draw this out for as long as we can. Time doesn't pass in here the same way it does in real life, so who knows how long we can make this last?"

He cut my other arm, severing part of the muscle. I screamed and tried to thrash around to fight him, but my left arm was in too much pain and my right arm was now useless. Damien had me exactly where he wanted. He tossed me over his shoulder like a scrap of paper, throwing me onto the memory books, where I started to bleed out.

"You know what I might do?" he said as he stepped closer. "I might burn every one of these books in front of you, just to drain you. It might make things easier when I take over your body. I won't have the extra emotional baggage to deal with."

How could I possibly get out of this? I had no weapons, no partner and no energy left. If Trance couldn't kill him, what could? My hands grasped for a book, as they were the closest things I had to a weapon. However, my hand was ruined and I couldn't properly grab one. I only shifted one book out of the pile and onto the floor.

"All your whining and crying," Damien continued to taunt. "'Oh, my friends don't like me! Oh, my mommy is dead and my daddy didn't love me enough!' You're pathetic."

I slid down the pile, landing hard on my dead arm. Blood gushed out as I groaned in pain, but Damien didn't seem to care. He was too busy reveling in his early victory. I reached out to the book that had fallen, trying to grasp the cover just by my fingertips.

"Well, if I weren't looking forward to your screaming, I'd cut your vocal chords out and make you eat them like worms." Damien came close and pressed his broadsword against my chest, drawing a few drops of blood. "Now, how should we start?"

I coughed before answering, "How about I say 'fuck you' and we be done with it?"

I opened the book. A surge of light erupted from it like nothing I had seen before. It was bright and powerful, but also calm and peaceful. I could feel its energy warming my hand to the touch. Despite my injuries, I no longer felt pain. The moment seemed like one collective sigh of relief.

Damien only watched in astonishment as a figure emerged from the book. It was a woman with an angelic glow about her, adorned in a flowing pink dress with a floral design. The dress was wide at the sleeves and the ankles, making her seem more like a holy queen than anything else. The woman looked down at the both of us and smiled.

"Trevor," she said. Her voice carried the faintest hint of an echo. "My brave little boy."

Damien seemed horrified and drawn to the woman all at once. "Mother?"

The woman quickly wrapped the wide arms from her dress around Damien, covering him completely and pulling him into herself. They both shrank into a singularity and disappeared back into the book. I closed the cover on _Early Childhood_, thankful that my last ditch effort had worked. It was purely a desperation move thanks to pure luck, but I would take it.

I laid on my back, using the last dregs of energy to patch myself up. It took several minutes of concentration, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath, but without Damien around anymore trying to kill me, I was able to manage.

I rested for what felt like a day. Time passed slowly. Perhaps I fell asleep, as odd as that would be inside my own head. Was that similar to being in a coma? Either way, I had no idea of how to get back to reality and I was beginning to go stir crazy. I had the memory books to occupy myself, but my mind was probably fragile and I was trying not to stress myself.

It wasn't until I was lost in my thoughts—thinking about memories by looking at their covers rather than opening them—that I heard someone's footsteps coming up from behind me. Thinking Damien had returned, I summoned a short sword and turned over with a Demon Saber charged, but stopped short. Instead, I dropped my short sword in surprise.

"Is that your way of treating your partner?" Kaiten said with a chuckle.

"Dude!" I shouted as I jumped to my feet. I ran to Kaiten and gave him a quick bro-hug. "I thought you were dead!"

"Technically, I've been dead," he said. "But when Damien blew up my body, he forgot about my legs. If he had blown those up too, then I wouldn't be here. I was able to gather my strength and rebuild from that. I'm still a little weak, but I think I'll manage."

"Good," I sighed, taking a seat on the memory books.

"So, how did you do it?" Kaiten asked, taking a seat next to me.

"Huh? Do what?"

"What else?" Kaiten said impatiently. "How did you kill Damien?"

I looked down at _Early Childhood_ and slowly lifted it, placing it in my lap. "I don't think he's really dead," I said. "I think I've sealed him. With any luck, it'll hold, but we probably shouldn't open this book for a very long time."

Kaiten took the book, tapping the cover. He grinned and slipped it into the pile, underneath another book. "There," he said. "It's not quite the same as the burning house in the field of blood, but I think it'll be safe."

"Yeah, I guess," I said. "But I've been thinking about it."

"About what?"

"Well, when I opened the book, my mother came out of it. She wrapped her arms around Damien and pulled him in with her. They're both inside the book now. I don't know what happened to Damien, but I also don't know what will happen if I try to remember my mother."

"Trevor?" Kaiten said, horrified. "But that's—"

"It's the only way to stay safe," I said. "In order to make sure Damien stays contained, I can never think about my mother. It might open the book and release him."

"But you just remembered her in the first place barely a month ago! You can't go and make that kind of sacrifice!"

"Damien nearly killed you without me even knowing, and he turned me against everyone else. I can't risk that. This is the only way we can both stay safe."

I could feel Kaiten staring at me for a long, silent moment. The two of us sat on the memory books until I said something else. "How many of these books have you seen?"

Kaiten looked at me curiously. "Seen?" he asked. "Well, most of them. Why?"

"You've seen most of my memories then?"

"Actually seen the memories? No, I haven't seen that many. I've seen most of the covers though. Why?"

"Because during our fight, Damien used one of my memory books as a shield and it was destroyed."

"Are you serious? Which one?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. I've been trying to remember, but it's been futile. Maybe the subject's been removed entirely so that I forgot I ever had those memories."

Kaiten sighed. "That bastard had to get one last hit in, didn't he?"

"Call it a scar," I said. I stood and looked back at the pile. I picked a book up at random. It was titled _Ice Cream_. "I guess I'll have to go through these one at a time and account for everything in my life."

Kaiten stood, frowning sadly. "I'll do what I can to help, but I don't know how good that will do. Maybe if we organize them?"

I nodded, but I didn't turn to face Kaiten. "That might be a good start." I set _Ice Cream_ down on the ground, using it as an arbitrary starting point. "But let's worry about that later. We need to find out where we are and get to Innural before the others find Garland and leave the planet."

"Right," Kaiten nodded. "One trip back to reality coming up."

Kaiten raised his hand to me and began sending me back. I waved a simple "see ya later" to him as everything went dark.

XXXXXXXX

The grey horizon of Terra opened itself up to me once more. The crumbling buildings and ruined streets were a monument to this once-great city. I picked myself up from a pile of ash and mounted concrete and dusted myself off. I looked around for anything distinct and unique. So far, I just had tall buildings and buildings that had fallen over in half.

"Well?" I asked Kaiten as soon as I had my bearings back. I started walking down the street, looking at every building top just in case something stood out for Kaiten. "Any of this look familiar to you?"

After a moment of studying the scenery, Kaiten gave me a heavy sigh and said, "_No, not a damn thing_."

"Really? Not even a guess?"

"_I'm not used to my planet's cities being in ruins. It takes some getting used to. Now go find us a map or a landmark._"

"What constitutes a landmark on Terra? A jar with a soul in it that says 'look what we can do'?"

"_You're hilarious. Now shut up and keep…_" There was a moment of silence as I walked down the middle of the street. I was about to ask if Kaiten spotted something when he blurted out, "_Trevor, down there!_"

"What is it?" I asked hopefully. "Did you spot something?"

"_Run down that street to your left. See that building down four blocks?_"

I started to jog down the street towards what I thought Kaiten was talking about. Sure enough, there was an especially tall building, spanning nine city blocks at its foundation. It was so tall that I couldn't even see the top. I fell back even trying to comprehend it. Such a massive structure was a testament to the Terrans' persistence.

"_Rivnia Tower,_" Kaiten said proudly. "_Standing at just over a kilometer and a half, it's the tallest structure on the planet._"

"A kilometer and a half?" I shouted. "That's just… that's… wait, what is that in miles?"

"_Are you serious_?"

"Keep in mind, I'm American. Metric is for Europeans and the military."

"_The point is, I know where we are. This is Zenon City in Brummia._"

"Brummia? Like where Innural's base was?"

"_Exactly,_" Kaiten said ecstatically. "_And even better, Ckelen-te-Clu is about a day's walk north of us._"

"A day, huh?" A car would have been nice to have, but after all this time, all this effort, and all this agony, I would walk a week to get to Innural and rip his throat out.

I cracked my neck and started to stretch out my legs. "Alrighty then. Kaiten, you're navigating. Which way to Ckelen-te-Clu?"

XXXXXXXX

Well, after two months of work, I've done it. I've finally topped my biggest chapter ever! (Anger, Chapter 6- Trevor's Battle Plan). This chapter stands at just over 37 pages and 15100 words! Hopefully, it was worth it and you guys had a lot of fun reading it! I promise not to go on any more hiatuses for as long as I can.

I know some people may think this chapter was a little too long, but there are two reasons for that. The first is that I wanted to fit everything into one chapter so that I could keep this as a trilogy and I really got on a roll there for a while, writing up to 2000 words a day for a few days. XD The second reason is that there's actually a clever hidden message using symbolism in this chapter. I think it's pretty easy to find, but then again, I wrote the damn thing, so of course I'd think that. EXTRA BONUS CREDIT TO ANYONE WHO CAN FIGURE IT OUT AND LEAVE THE ANSWER IN A REVIEW! XD

But as I've said, this is a trilogy, and the next chapter will have even bigger surprises and twists! After months of waiting and going along with the story, Trevor and Kaiten finally face off against Hart Innural in a battle to discover the reasons behind Project Soulforge and who betrayed Kaiten's team.

Next Chapter; Project Soulforge's Purpose.


	17. Project Soulforge's Purpose

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: So, first thing's first. Some of you did manage to correctly guess the symbolism behind the last chapter. Damien was the physical manifestation of Trevor's rage as created by the rage he felt when his mother died. But on to more important matters…

Once again, we come to one of my favorite types of chapters… the one overloaded with plot twisting exposition! XD Only this time, we'll be answering questions that have existed within this story since day one!

Why was Trevor specifically chosen for this experiment?

What did Soulcage mean when he said that Trevor and Kaiten did not fit inside their body properly?

Why did Saiko betray the Spectral Knights?

What was Innural's true intention with the Spectral Knights?

What are the effects of Project Soulforge and what will happen to Trevor and Kaiten?

What was Project Soulforge ever supposed to do?

And of course, the question you really want to know…

How badly are Trevor and Kaiten going to kick Innural's ass?

Read on and enjoy…

Chapter 17: Project Soulforge's Purpose

XXXXXXXX

"This is impossible!" Innural yelled, running from console to console. "No, no, no! I CAN'T be wrong!"

Hart Innural's laboratory was ablaze in lighted screens and processing data. He tried desperately to analyze the charts flying by on the screens, but his lab was hardly the place for a peaceful examination. The blaring alarm and strobing white emergency light at the door made it impossible to concentrate.

"Hart!" Saiko called out, entering the room in a rush. His normally calm demeanor was upset by the alarms and sudden urgency. "Unit 00 is out of control! His soul line has snapped! What is this?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Innural cried out. Data and information flew at him to quickly. He tried to calculate as much as he could, but the few reports that he could handle already painted the obvious conclusion.

"Was Unit 01 not a compatible match?" Saiko asked.

"It's Boleman's theory!" Innural realized. "We overloaded the Earthling! His body has been bearing the weight of two souls! It can't take much more."

A red light flashed over a control panel, accompanied by an alarm. The screen flashed violently, as if it were unwilling to maintain a steady picture. Trevor McEvoy was briefly seen walking out of Zenon City just before the picture cut out.

"No, no!" Innural continued to yell. "There should have been a balance! I did everything right!"

"We need to repair the situation Hart!" Saiko yelled. "We will die if we don't! All of Terra will die if we don't!"

"I know, but there's nothing we can do! The damage is done!"

Suddenly, one of the consoles blew up. Shrapnel and shards of glass shot out and embedded themselves deep into the walls. Innural covered himself with his hands, cowering besides a mapping console in the center of the room.

Saiko felt a shard fly by his head and felt a pang of concern for his coworker. "Hart! This place is becoming unstable and Units 00 and 01 are coming to kill you! We need to retreat to Bran Bal!"

"No!" Innural shouted back. "I will never abandon my research! I would rather—"

Just then, a tremor rocked through the entire building. Saiko braced himself in the doorway while Innural hugged a computer for support. The shaking lasted only a moment, but where they felt it inside the building told Innural everything.

"What was that?" Saiko asked.

"The machines that power the computers that monitor Unit 00 and 01 are in the basement!" Innural explained. "Their instability and power level must have triggered a malfunction!"

"That's it!" Saiko yelled. "We have to leave NOW! Gather the data you can and run!"

"If only I had more time," Innural wept. He didn't move in the slightest, even to save himself. "More materials and more subjects… It could have gone so perfectly!"

"Hart?"

Saiko didn't have a chance to save the madman. Another tremor hit deep within the building and triggered an explosion in a fuel line. Saiko heard it coming but wasn't able to pull Innural out of the room. He could only jump away from the doorway just in time to see the entire laboratory destroyed. A pillar of fire burst through the floor, taking everything inside with it. The doors slowly shut and cut off Saiko's view into the room.

The shaking stopped and the building settled.

Everything was quiet.

XXXXXXXX

"The hell was that?" I asked after the crashing explosion ended.

"_Thunder?_" Kaiten guessed. "_We're not far from a front. Bad weather is common."_

"You seem to know a lot. I thought you lived in Olesta?"

"_I read everything there was to know about the basics of Brummia. I could even recite their history of earthquakes. Intel was vital in my line of work._"

"Is it possible to be in Special Forces _and _be a tremendous nerd?"

Our trip started well. We made good progress as we walked out of the city, but leaving it all behind, I finally grasped the true desolate reality that Terra had fallen to. Gray buildings lay in ruins on gray dirt under a gray sky. There was no sunlight or hint of color anywhere. Even outside of Zenon City, the only sign of civilization I could see was a shattered road. It led north to Ckelen-te-Clu, but every other thing around it was gone. There was only a gray wasteland in every direction.

This place horrified me. It was like the entire planet itself was dead and rotting underneath me.

"_The Poentian Mountains_," Kaiten said, halfway through our march. I looked to the east, where a mountain range stood. They seemed like mere foothills at this distance, but were otherwise unimpressive.

"They look like big gray rocks," I said. "Like everything else on this planet."

"_You should have seen them in their prime. They glowed in the morning when the sun rose over them. Photographers would gather the world over just to take pictures of their beauty._"

I tried to imagine the mountains with a glorious sunrise behind them. I didn't question that they could be beautiful, but Kaiten never struck me as the nostalgic type.

"Did you get to see them before you attacked Ckelen-te-Clu?"

"_The morning before our assault, after we had crept into the town, we turned back to Olesta. The mountains were like what we were fighting for. They reminded us why we were there_."

"Not trying to be an asshole here, but what's the point?" I asked. "You're not the tour-giving sort."

"_My point is,_" Kaiten began abruptly. "_That this is not truly Terra. The planet I left was beautiful… Full of life. The Great War stretched on for most of my life, but even between battles, I always made sure my men and I would look around us, to see the damage we had inflicted and to see the natural beauty around us. We had all grown up in heavily populated cities, either homeless, as orphans, or so far from even a blade of grass that we couldn't be sure what nature was. Things like flowers were unreal._"

"So those trees from the game," I asked. "The ones around Bran Bal. What are those?"

"_Entirely artificial,_" Kaiten explained. "_I've never actually seen them myself, but if what I saw in your memories are accurate, they gathered sunlight and energy while keeping the clouds parted. That energy is probably used to sustain Bran Bal._"

Bran Bal… My mind wandered as I thought of where the others were. Did they even make it to Terra? I was going to need the help in fighting Garland and Kuja later, so I really hoped so. No, I had to believe that they were here, somewhere. Maybe they were already in Bran Bal, exploring the city.

I didn't have time to waste. Ckelen-te-Clu was still half a day away.

"_So much has changed in so little time_," Kaiten sighed. "_I don't even know how long I've been gone. Five years? Ten? My body is sure to be gone and rotted away… assuming Innural didn't stuff it and place it in his trophy room._"

"It doesn't matter how long it's been," I said confidently. "We both know Innural is alive. He's the only one who could have injected you into my head. And like you said, if he's anywhere, his lab is the best place to start looking."

"_Yes, you're right._"

Kaiten was silent for a long time. Several minutes passed as we walked the beaten road together. By now, Zenon was completely out of sight. Rivnia Tower was all that was left behind us that I could still see. There were some bumps in the horizon before us, which I assumed were buildings and more ruins.

Finally, after minutes of an odd silence, Kaiten spoke again. "_Trevor, Cleyra was supposed to be destroyed._"

I slowed for only a moment as Kaiten's question threw me off track. "Well, yeah, in the game it was. I seem to remember you trying to stop me from saving it."

"_That was my mistake. I was afraid in changing the future, but that's not important right now. What is important is that you found a way to rewrite the game._"

"Yes, I am amazing," I joked. "But I'm sure you're not trying to stroll down memory lane."

"_Not quite,_" he said. "_Terra is also supposed to be left burning in ruins after Kuja has his way with it. If at all possible… could you… No, _we are_ going to save the planet._"

It was an incredibly tall order. One that, even with Kaiten by my side, I wasn't sure I could follow through with. Kuja was far stronger than I was. Even with the others helping me, assuming they would let me work with them again. Still, we managed to stay the hand of fate before. Maybe we could do it again.

"It's worth a shot," I said, even though I had no idea how to save Terra.

"_Thank you,_" Kaiten said with a sigh of relief. "_That's what I needed to hear._"

"No problem."

I looked again to the horizon before us. Sure enough, buildings were rising out of the ground to meet us.

"_We're making better time than I thought!_" Kaiten said. "_Hurry up! We might be able to get there before nightfall!_"

XXXXXXXX

Dull gray turned to dark grey as all hints of light escaped the horizon. Crumbled buildings and years of grime collected in every street. The only thing that stood out from the rubble was the sole building on the north end of town. It was cleaner than the other buildings, if only by a little, but it was still in good condition and even had several lights shining through the windows.

"_Ckelen-te-Clu_," Kaiten said. "_This is where it all ended for me… I'm finally back_…"

The building itself had a deteriorating perimeter wall surrounding the outside. I remembered the story Kaiten told me of his assault. The towers his summoner Zareth had destroyed were still no more than piles of bricks. Most of the perimeter wall had fallen into disrepair and had been weathered away.

The laboratory itself was not like I had imagined it. It was once a large, cubic building with several windows lining its four floors, however, only two walls really stood anymore. A quick peek around the corner showed that half of the eastern wall had fallen and the other walls had collapsed entirely. Inside, everything was charred and destroyed. It looked like an explosion had gone off inside the basement and set the rest of the building on fire.

"_What the fuck is this?_" Kaiten shouted. "_Where's the base? What happened here?_"

Parts of the building were still smoking. A gentle plume rose into the night sky. It would have been impossible to see coming into the city as night fell, but up close, it was the darkest thing around.

"_This doesn't work at all!_" Kaiten shouted. "_How am I supposed to avenge my team if Innural isn't here? What if he's dead? Someone from Olesta sold us out. I can't find out who if Innural died here!_"

"Kaiten, relax," I said. "The smoke is still rising. That means that whatever happened here happened recently. Maybe Innural found a way to escape the destruction and he's just hiding inside."

Kaiten took a moment to compose himself again. "_Fine. Maybe you're right. But he has a whole planet to hide on._"

"Then we'll start here and look for clues," I interrupted. I walked towards the front door, knocking it off its hinges as I pushed my way in.

Inside, the building smelled like fuel. I covered my nose with my shirt, but Kaiten quickly assured me that the smell was expected. It was a more refined version of gasoline with less harmful vapors. Several gas pipes were blown open and releasing the gas into the hall. My guess was that it was what caused the blast that destroyed this place.

After searching for several minutes, I couldn't find a safe passage up to the higher floors. Most of the halls were gone. A soft breeze washed through them, but without a floor to stand on, I couldn't progress. We found a stairwell in one corner of the building, but it was so unstable, that I wasn't about to attempt to climb it.

"There's no way that'll hold us," I said.

"_That's the only other way upstairs,_" Kaiten said. "_We can't get to Innural's lab anywhere else._"

"How do you know Innural's lab is even in tact? This whole place is one enormous mess!"

"_Mental mapping. It's faint, but I'm pretty sure Innural's lab is just on the edge of the destruction. He might have been able to hide out in the nearest hallway._"

I held on to the railing, giving it a slight shake. Part of the metal snapped off in my hand. I sighed as I took my first step up. "For the record, this is suicide."

"_Right, whatever._"

I hesitantly took another step up the stairs, until I felt the building shake. I jumped back down to the floor and held the railing for support as an enormous crash echoed all around us. I shut my eyes, hoping that I could avoid any chunks of concrete about to fall on me. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped. I stood up once I was sure it was safe, and stepped out into the hallway again.

Nothing seemed different at first, until I walked down another hallway. Now, even more of it was gone, and most importantly, the remainder of the central building had collapsed. The fires had still been burning and ate away at the structure. Now, all that was left of Ckelen-te-Clu was a few hallways, some small rooms near the front of the building, and the exterior wall.

The rest of the building—and our chances of finding Hart Innural alive—were gone.

"_No, no, NO!_" Kaiten shouted. "_INNURAL! WHERE ARE YOU?_"

"Kaiten, calm down!" I shouted. "There's no way he can hear you inside my head."

"_Don't fucking tell me to calm down! How the hell are we supposed to find him now?"_

I would have pointed out that he was talking exactly like I had been for the last week. Kaiten realized it too, and quickly quieted himself. "_Fine. Let's check the medical records or something. Maybe he has a room dedicated to information storage around here that we can break into._"

"What good'll that do?"

"_Innural said that someone gave him the mission plan for my team when we arrived. Maybe he's kept it over the years. If we find that, I might be able to trace it back to its source._"

It wasn't a bad idea, and the point of us coming here was to kill Innural and avenge Kaiten's team. With Innural dead, the end result was the same, minus the fun.

A short walk back towards the front of the building revealed a door with a card swipe and a code entry pad. It looked like just out of a movie. Now all we would need was the right key card and access code. Or a Chi-powered short sword.

After destroying my third door of the day, I walked inside, hoping to find a working computer room that we could hack into. Instead, we got another stairwell, heading down into the basement.

"_What the hell?_" Kaiten said. "_This wasn't supposed to be here._"

"Kaiten?"

"_No, this stairwell… I knew every nook and cranny of this building. I'm telling you, this was never here before._"

"Maybe Innural made an expansion after your mission?"

"_That or the Intel was wrong._"

I flipped a nearby light switch on the wall. Nothing happened. The stairwell was dark to begin with thanks to the night sky, but the power being out here just made it downright creepy. Thinking for a moment, I powered up an Explosion on one short sword. It was as effective as using a UV flashlight, but at least I wasn't stumbling around in total darkness.

The staircase went down three levels. I couldn't see that well, but the smells, as well as how greasy the railing felt, told me enough about how filthy it was down here. Perhaps Innural and his staff didn't use this area that much. He clearly didn't have the same pride in whatever was down here.

After the staircase, there was a long hallway. I stuck near the left wall, bumping my hand against it just to make sure where I was. The darkness seemed to go on and on for as far as I could see. Even after walking for a minute, I was beginning to wonder just how vast this place was. I didn't have long to wonder though. We neared the end of the hallway and came to another security door. I held my short sword near the keypad for a moment. The entire door itself was covered in dust, but the handle and the keypad had been wiped clean.

Someone had been inside this room, and recently.

"Kaiten, this might be it," I said. "Do you want to take over?"

"_Please,_" he said. "_I've been waiting for this for months…_"

"It's all yours," I said. I stood back from the door and held my arms out. I soon lost all feeling in my body and sank back into my mind. Kaiten took complete control. It was Kaiten's revenge which was more important here. As long as Innural knew that I helped guide him here, then that was all the personal vengeance I needed.

As soon as he had control, Kaiten swung the short sword still capped with the Explosion into the door. It blasted open, blowing clean off its hinges. Kaiten swooped into the room at once.

Inside, several metallic lab tables were set in place in the middle of the room, with one larger desk at the far end. Computers and monitors ran along the walls, flashing and displaying data that I probably wouldn't begin to understand. Obviously, this place had its own power source. At first, this place looked to me like an autopsy room. However, I noticed Kaiten's gaze never left the man at the back of the room. A bald man hunched over the far table with the slightly charred lab coat.

"Hart Innural," Kaiten introduced. "I fucking told you I would be back."

Hart didn't say a word. He was too calm, too focused… Instead, he pressed a button on the desk. Kaiten stood on guard at once, but we never saw the attack coming from behind. Innural had been waiting for us and wasted no time in defending himself. A lance speared into my lung, tearing through organ and muscle and broke out through the front. The head of it split open into four prongs like a grappling hook. Kaiten only had time to look up briefly before the line attached to it went taut and forced him back against the wall.

"Lieutenant Kaiten Saeis," Innural gloated. "I've been expecting you."

"Innural," Kaiten said, biting through the pain. Even from inside my own mind, I could feel his rage spreading throughout. I couldn't see it of course, but I could sense a dark sheet spreading over everything around me. Was this was I had been like with Damien's influence? The sensation put me on edge.

_Should have seen that coming!_ Kaiten shouted. _Find a way out while I distract him!_

"_Find a way out?_" I asked. "_How? We have a fucking hook in our lung and we're hanging from the wall like a dead pig!_"

_Just think of something dammit! I won't be forced into another body again!_

"I'm surprised you made it at all," Innural said, stepping closer to Kaiten. He reached over and grabbed the short swords away, throwing them over onto a nearby table. "I've been monitoring your progress lately. Your host nearly lost it, didn't he?"

"Everything that happened is your fault!" Kaiten said, even as the blood trickled into his mouth.

"Oh, yes, the para-lance," Innural said, patting my chest near the wound and sending a wave of pain through Kaiten's entire body. "Genius device of mine really. The hook keeps you in place, but the wire itself sends trace amounts of antiseptics, nutrients and coagulants into your body. You could hang there for a week without dying! One soldier that Olesta sent against me lasted a whole month. He was an impressive one. It truly is a remarkable device, but then again, what haven't I done that's genius?"

"Killing my team and pissing me off for starters," Kaiten was quick to say.

"Yes, an unfortunate event," Innural said in mock pity. "But I just had to experiment on purple magic users, and your Special Forces team was the easiest source. All I had to do was call in a favor."

"What favor?" Kaiten demanded. "From who?"

"Straight to the revenge scheme," Innural said. "Not 'why me', or 'what was the point'? I think we could have gotten along quite well if you were born in Brummia."

"You're a sick bastard!"

"And you're a weak little soul leeching off of a host from another world, BOTH of whom are currently stuck on my wall!" Innural edged closer, staring into Kaiten's eyes, as if trying to see me through a window. "Are you still in there Trevor McEvoy? You didn't get yourself killed, did you?"

I had to hold back my anger as Innural mocked us both. I wanted nothing more than to lash out and grab him by the throat, but if I didn't work with Kaiten on this, we would both be killed, or worse.

"He's alive," Kaiten said. "But why him anyway? You told me you needed purple magic users, so I understand why you stole my life away, but he's not from Terra _or_ Gaia and he wasn't a purple magic user when he got here. Why involve another planet at all?"

"You never studied _Boleman's Theory on Soul Mechanics_, did you?" Innural asked, backing away. He grabbed a book of the same title from a table and waved it in Kaiten's face. "Boleman set the stage for me to overcome! His discoveries were groundbreaking and allowed Terra to flourish! Taking control of soul power is the single greatest achievement in our history. By amplifying another one's soul, we gain strength otherwise unimagined before!"

"Then experiment on yourself!" Kaiten shouted. "Leave the innocent out of it!"

Innural chuckled. "Lieutenant, do you delude yourself into thinking you're innocent? But I digress… Boleman did set a few fundamentals on soul power. For example, one can greatly amplify their own power by combining their soul with another. By injecting a soul into the mind of a man, they could single-handedly turn the tide of a battle. You already see this power naturally occurring in those with purple magic."

"And that's why you wanted me," Kaiten realized.

"Yes. You are phenomenally strong, even within your team. That's why I knew you were the perfect base for my own experiment to create a super soldier!"

"Yet, you injected me into Trevor and not yourself?"

"Ah, yes. The other discovery Boleman made was on the compatibility of souls. I could inject any soul I wanted into any body I desired, but if the two were not a perfect match, then their souls will disintegrate and the body will rot from the inside out. The less compatible they are, the faster they rot. And I'm sure you're aware of how they say every one of us has a double somewhere in this world?"

"Are you going to throw tired sayings at me now?"

Innural's response was to punch Kaiten in the stomach, knocking the wind out of us and sending another wave of pain throughout him. I couldn't feel any pain per say, but in my empathy, I wanted to do more, just to take some of the pain away. Still, Kaiten was the one who controlled all that, so there was nothing I could do to help him. And that damn hook wasn't going to release itself anytime soon.

"Well, I kept you contained for some time until I could find your double. It took longer than I would have liked, but he was living on Gaia."

"But Trevor's… from Earth… If he's my double, then why—"

Innural punched Kaiten again, this time in the chest, causing him to roar in pain. The para-lance didn't offer any painkillers, so Kaiten felt every iota of agony.

"You will be silent!" Innural warned. "Your friend was the true mark of my own genius! Your double was a man named Trevor Delores, the son of an Alexandrian Captain on Gaia. However, he was calm, collected, and did not offer anything that I wanted in your partner. You needed someone of action! Of anger! Someone who would gladly charge into battle, whatever his reason. So, I began searching other worlds for such a match, and then other universes. It took me years to search, but eventually, I found him. A man so boiled over with rage that if he continued down his path, he was destined either to become a serial killer, or kill himself. Perhaps both. That man was Trevor McEvoy."

I didn't know what to say. In middle and high school, I got into a lot of fights and was often a favorite target of the jocks. I often imagined myself killing them and laughing at them as they died in my arms. Other times, I was so depressed that I couldn't kill them that I didn't want to continue living. Could I have really turned out that badly? Would that have been my life if I didn't have Nicole by my side for so long, or Shadow's blood on my hands? Was my rage really that extreme? I felt cold and sick to my stomach all at once.

"McEvoy was just the man we needed to proceed with the mission," Innural said. "However, pulling one soul into another universe is at a great cost. On the night that the group Tantalus performed for the princess of Alexandria, my partner and I made our move. I found Trevor Delores wandering along the side of the docking pool and threw him into the water. During the fireworks before the play, my partner started the signal, tearing Delores' soul from his body and replacing it with McEvoy's!"

I remembered it all. I went to sleep in my dorm, but I remembered falling when I woke up, then crashing into the water. I thought I was dreaming at first, then I thought some elaborate prank was being pulled on me. In a way, one had been. I never would have guessed that I was a pawn in such a grand scheme.

"So, you're saying there are three of us in here?" Kaiten asked weakly.

Fortunately, Innural stayed his hand this time. "Not at all! Weren't you listening? I said there was a cost! The three of you are involved, but only between the combination of your soul, McEvoy's soul, and Delores' body!"

"Then… what happened to Delores' soul?"

"That was the cost of transferring McEvoy's soul to Terra. Delores' soul is dried up and gone! A small price to pay for greatness! Ahahaha!"

Dead? I felt a moment of sadness for Trevor Delores. Maybe it was because of the interaction I've had with his father, but I couldn't really fathom such a terrible fate. The other Trevor had done nothing to deserve this. He was just an innocent victim chosen to be murdered for a madman's sick fetish with so-called 'genius'.

_Trevor, how are you handling this?_ Kaiten asked in thought-speak. _Are you ok?_

"_Not really,_" I answered truthfully. "_I was kind of hoping for a moment that Damien was actually Trevor Delores' suppressed soul or something, but… I don't know. I can understand why you were sent to kill this bastard. How are you holding up? How's the chest?_"

_I'll live._

"Boleman never had the courage to experiment as far as he should have!" Innural said, stroking his ego. "He only injected a single soul into a host body! I was greater than him though, and found three doubles! Pairs of bodies, all alike in every way! I just mixed both souls into the host body. McEvoy first, because we couldn't waste a soul like yours lieutenant. He was fully expendable though. After that, we just had to wait for him to be alone so we could inject you into the host body as well! Project _Soulforge_ really lived up to its name, didn't it?"

"_What about me?_" I demanded. "_Where's my body?_"

"What of the originals?" Kaiten demanded all the same. "Where's Trevor's body? And where's my body and the bodies of my teammates?"

A twisted grin spread across Innural's face. "Your body is gone. Rotted away long ago. Why would I spend resources keeping something around that I wouldn't need? But at least I dropped it on top of your teammates' bodies in the mass grave outside of town. You get top honors in that respect. You're welcome."

"My… my body is…"

"_Kaiten!_" I had to yell. "_Keep it together!_"

_I can't help it,_ he admitted. _I thought that once we found Innural, maybe… somehow, we could reverse the experiment. But if my body is gone, then we're stuck like this… forever._

I could feel Kaiten shudder, like he was giving up and breaking down. I had hoped the same thing as him in that we could recover his body and return to normal. Then again, this wasn't even my own body, so now I was in the same boat as Kaiten. However, those hopes were now dashed, thanks to Innural. This fucker had to die!

Innural walked out of range though, to the other side of the room. A large screen slid from the ceiling, showing nothing but static at first. "As for McEvoy's body, he suffers a different fate." Innural reprogrammed the screen until it showed a blue room with white sheets everywhere. I wasn't sure what I was seeing, until I saw a face in one corner of the screen.

It was me.

My body was laying in a hospital bed. I was hooked up to machines I didn't even recognize. I looked like I was sleeping peacefully though. The doctors probably thought I was just in a coma. They had no way to tell that my soul had been ripped away. Even worse, if the cost of transferring souls between universes was another soul, then I had no way to return home. My father was alone now, keeping me on life support in hopes that I'll return someday. He had lost everything. His wife, the son she was pregnant with, and now his only remaining son. He was alone.

I wanted to cry. Innural had hurt so many people in his conquest for… what? What was the point of all this? To prove that he could? To beat this Boleman guy in a pissing contest? Myself, Kaiten, the Spectral Knights, my father, Captain Delores and his son Trevor… All victims to this goddamned madman!

The screen soon disappeared. Innural walked slowly over to us, cupping my chin in his hand. "However, it seems you've become far too rebellious for your own good. You've roamed free long enough and you've helped me collect plenty of data, although it was at the cost of my lab. Now all I have to do is repurpose you. Perhaps I can find another double to combine you with, or two! I hope you don't mind it being crowded in there!"

Innural broke into a cackle. I knew I was at my limit, and Kaiten wasn't faring very well either. We both stared at Innural with hatred burning in our eyes. Kaiten knew just what to do.

Leaving the physical pain behind and acting solely on the emotional pain he felt, Kaiten reached out with one hand and grabbed Innural by the throat. The mad scientist gasped in surprise at the sudden movement and tried to back away, but Kaiten had him in a solid throat-lock.

"You! You dare!" Innural struggled to say.

"Fine, so the past is gone and I can't get my body back," Kaiten said with more determination than I had ever seen from him. "But I can still avenge my team."

He started to crush Innural's throat. I half-expected him to lift Innural into the air. However, the madman reached behind himself and pulled out what looked like a stun wand. He brought it to my wrist and let a jolt out, shocking Kaiten. Kaiten shouted as our hand went numb and let Innural go.

"You wretched whelp!" Innural said as he backed away. "To hell with you! I'll simply remove BOTH your souls and place you into stasis until I can find better use for you!"

Innural ran out the door in the back of the room, leaving us alone. My short swords were still in the middle of the room, far out of reach. We couldn't cut our way through the para-lance or pull our way down. But then again… maybe we could.

"No! I will not let this happen again!" Kaiten shouted in vain. _Trevor, please tell me you have an idea!_

"_I do,_" I said. I braced myself even as I spoke the words, because the thought of it terrified me.

_Then tell me dammit! We don't have time to stall!_

"_Do you remember what you did for me the first time we fought against General Beatrix? Right after she blasted that hole in my lung?_"

_Well, yeah. I took over your chest so that you wouldn't black out from the pain. I thought you were too weak to… wait, why did you bring that up?_

"_Because that's how we're getting out of this, only in reverse. I'll take the pain, you kill Innural._"

_Are you insane? I was in so much pain last time I did that that I could barely move for days on end!_

"_Then I'll just have to overcome it, won't I?_"

_But the only way to get free is for me to intentionally hurt you by shoving this lance through your lung._

"_I know._"

_But that's—_

"_We don't have time to debate!_" I shouted impatiently. "_Just put me in charge of our torso, then force the lance through my lung. You'll need to stay conscious in order to kill Innural. You want him dead more than I do._"

_Trevor… _he started to say. _I swear I'll pay you back for this. I'll find a way home for you._

"_Thanks Kaiten._"

Sensation started to return to me. I could feel my lungs filling with dusty, dirty air. My stomach rumbled from hunger. I hadn't eaten once since landing on Terra. My heart started to race, knowing the pain that was about to begin any second. I shut my eyes, doing everything to ignore the pain that was already present thanks to the para-lance.

_Are you ready?_ Kaiten asked.

"_Could I be?_"

_Good point. Here we go…_

Kaiten grabbed the lance's head, pulling the four prongs away from us. It was attached to a strong spring, so it didn't want to budge, but Kaiten pushed as hard as he could, pulling the sharp edges together. The tips of prong scratched my chest, leaving lines of blood in their wake, until the head finally reformed into a long diamond-shaped spear tip. It clicked, locking into place. Kaiten's hands had been cut by the edges, but he continued on, bracing himself for the next part. In some ways, he seemed more hesitant about it than I did.

After a moment, Kaiten brought the lance tip to the open wound. He hesitated for a moment, but he knew that the longer he waited, the more I would be hurt. The lance-tip was slightly larger than the wound, so the skin expanded as the weapon transferred sides. I tried to hold back my screaming, but the pain soon became unbearable. Inside my mind, I thrashed about. It was a disorienting feeling. My head felt like it was floating free of myself, as did my arms and legs, but my chest, my real chest, was in so much torment, that it was almost all I could focus on.

I blacked out for a moment as the lance wrenched its way through my lung. I remembered when Beatrix blasted a hole in my lung and my hand fell into it in the aftermath. That sensation was painful and grotesque. This sensation was so bad that I wanted to die just to stop it.

After what felt like hours, the pain finally started to subside. The lance latched back onto the wall and my body fell free. Kaiten landed on his hands and knees, catching the falling blood from my chest.

"Trevor, are you alright?" he asked.

"_No I'm not fucking alright!_" I yelled quickly. "_Fuck this fucking hurts!_"

"Calm down!" he said, standing. "One of these might help."

Kaiten walked over to the nearest table and grabbed a vial. There was a familiar silver liquid inside. I recognized it as an elixir at once and tried to lunge for it, but I had no control over my arms and legs. All I did was knock Kaiten slightly off balance as he grabbed it.

"Hey, careful!" Kaiten scolded. "Just calm down. This'll help."

Kaiten quickly drank the elixir. The magic began to work instantly. My chest stopped hurting all at once and it soon closed. I was able to catch my breath and the blood I had lost was quickly replaced. As an added bonus that I didn't expect, my stomach stopped growling. Kaiten and I stood again as one, fully healed and ready to ambush Innural and kill him once more.

"Finally," Kaiten said, walking over to grab my short swords. "Now we can finish this."

"_You still need to find out who betrayed you,_" I reminded him. "_Then we need to find a way back to the others._"

"I know. One step at a time." Kaiten charged up the short swords, ready to fight anything that came his way. "Hold on, I think I hear him coming."

Innural stepped inside, holding a big syringe with a large pump on one end, while the needle itself was surrounded by a large plastic ring extending into the tube. He laughed as he shut the door behind him, confident that Kaiten and I were still his prisoners.

"Your soul alone could power a warship Lieutenant," he gloated. "Maybe next time, I'll—"

Kaiten cut Innural off by shattering his syringe with an Arc. It cut through the air, splitting the syringe into pieces, barely missing Innural himself.

"What?" Innural blurted out. "How did you get loose? It's not possible!"

"It seems you underestimated us," Kaiten said.

Innural tried to run back to his desk to activate his defenses, but Kaiten wasn't about to let him do that again. My partner brought the short swords together over his head, charged his energy between them, and crashed them into the floor.

"Fin!" Kaiten called out.

A large spike of energy broke through everything in the room, smashing a pair of tables aside in their wake and splitting the desk in half before the energy exploded. Now with the desk gone, Innural lost his control over the room and his defenses. The madman could only stare on in horror as Kaiten closed the gap between them both, sticking a short sword into Innural's gut.

"Now, you're going to continue your story," Kaiten said. "If you knew so much about my team and my powers, then you know all the ways I can kill you with just a sudden thought. And skip the useless info. You don't want me getting bored."

Innural looked down at Kaiten's blade, then looked back at Kaiten defiantly. "You can't do this to me!" he shouted. "I am the greatest mind this planet has ever known! I am Hart Innural!"

Kaiten responded appropriately by sticking the offending short sword half an inch into Innural's skin. "Start talking, or I'll remove all the skin from your chest and peel you like an onion!"

Innural gasped at the sudden pain and grimaced in hatred, but knew he didn't have the upper hand for once. "Fine. What the hell are you going to bother me about?"

"During my team's infiltration of your base, you knew every move we would make and all our abilities," Kaiten began. "I know someone from Olesta betrayed us. Who was it and why did they do it?"

"Perhaps you're just predictable."

Kaiten twisted the blade sharply, causing Innural to yelp in agony.

"I'm losing my patience!" Kaiten said.

"Fine…fine," Innural said, wincing through the pain. "I assume you've heard of The Council of Vaycles?"

"The group of world leaders and scientists who meet for the betterment of Terran civilization," Kaiten said, like he was quoting a pamphlet. "A lot of good they did when the Great War started."

"That's because the Great War was their idea!" Innural revealed.

I didn't know much about Terran history, but the news came as a shock to Kaiten, who only looked at Innural in total disbelief.

"Bullshit!" Kaiten said. "Hundreds of thousands of people died in that war before I died! How does that advance civilization?"

"Because it grants immortality," Innural said, taking a deep breath. "As top scientist of Brummia, I was on that board that decided to start the war, and I stayed on it during the war, ensuring that our plan progressed smoothly. As you probably know, Terra is countlessly old, having reached five separate golden ages. We've even had to restart our calendar years just to keep the numbers low enough to remember. This process is done by absorbing the Life Crystal of other planets into the crystal of Terra. Our planet could all live for eternity like this.

"However, as time droned on, we ran out of nearby planets to absorb. The time it would take to explore new planets and bring them to us would take too long and would mean Terra's destruction. So, after discovering the strength of soul power, The Council of Vacyles decided to flood our planet's Life Crystal with souls. And what's the best way to amass a large number of souls?"

Kaiten's eyes widened as he realized the answer. "War."

"Precisely. That fool Boleman had just died and couldn't whine his weakness into the council's mind. And for a while, the war worked. While many suffered, the rest of the planet began to flourish again, and it seemed we might have been able to reach another golden age. However, the war soon wasn't enough. Even though souls were being harvested by the thousands, the planet started to die from underneath our feet. So, I had the idea of choosing quality souls over mass quantities of souls. The souls I had in mind were obvious…"

"The Spectral Knights?" Kaiten blurted out, grabbing Innural's shirt collar.

Innural grinned as his head was forced back against the wall. It was good to see that he could still torment Kaiten like this. "Precisely. What stronger souls were there than those of purple magic users? Trance users had long since died off, an ability which seemed to have awakened in you thanks to your second soul. Perhaps I was too hasty in writing him off as expendable."

"Stay on subject!" Kaiten yelled. "Why was my team betrayed?"

Innural gave Kaiten a bored expression. "Don't you get it? Your team was fuel. They were sent to the Life Crystal to power it. As you can tell by the dead horizon outside, the plan didn't work. Their souls were wasted."

Kaiten lessened his grasp on Innural only slightly as the shock overtook him. "Then… my friends…"

"Dead," Innural finished. "You're all that's left."

"But why me?" Kaiten demanded, returning his grip on Innural to full. "Why did you spare me from that and inject me into Trevor's mind?"

"Because you were a valuable research tool!" Innural said. "Even Boleman never got to experiment with a soul laced with purple magic! You were the strongest of your team! I had to keep you around!"

Kaiten's head lowered until he was staring at the floor. I tried to say something to comfort him, but Kaiten took in a rather loud and sharp breath, as if he were trying to cut me off.

"I've long since accepted that my team was dead," Kaiten said. "But they died fighting for what they knew was right. They were trying to save the world from a psychotic, selfish madman."

Innural scowled at Kaiten. "You will not talk to me like that!"

Kaiten stabbed Innural deeper, pressing the short sword an inch into Innural's stomach. "A Pulse this deep won't kill you," he said. "But it will really, really hurt!"

"You impudent—"

"WHO BETRAYED ME?" Kaiten yelled an inch from Innural's face. "This is the last time I will ask!"

Innural stared at Kaiten for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. My partner in all this was an Olestan general. He was a damned old fool, but he was willing to give up his prized team."

"Wait…" Kaiten said. "An Olestan general?"

"That's right," Innural grinned. "I believe you knew him quite well. General Arin Saiko."

"_Kaiten?_" I finally spoke up. "_That's the general who spoke to you in your missions, isn't it? Innural can't be telling the truth, can he?_"

_No…_ Kaiten said. _I won't believe it!_

"You're lying!" Kaiten accused. "The General would never betray me!"

"Oh, he did," Innural gloated. "It took some convincing, but after the entire council voted on it, he decided to give in. The proof if in the top drawer of my desk if you don't believe me."

After its explosion, half the desk had come to rest just behind where Kaiten was standing. He kept an eye on Innural, but slowly reached back for the drawer with a short sword, being wary of any traps. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Innural was telling the truth. Inside the drawer was a file. Kaiten dropped the second short sword and picked up the file, spilling several papers onto the floor.

There had only been two-dozen papers, but they were the sort of thing I'd expect to have been blacked out by a CIA pen. Pictures and stats of every Spectral Knight now littered the floor. Kaiten picked one of himself up in surprise.

"These are… these are our dossiers," he said. "Stats, missions statuses, abilities… Only very high ranking Olestan Military personnel can access these…"

"Like a general?" Innural laughed. "Face it. He sold you out! And what's more, it was for nothing! Your team died in vain and you're all alone!"

"He wouldn't do this!" Kaiten said. "And even so, why bring me back? He would know that I would retaliate, even against him!"

"Well, it just so happens that his timing matched my own. I had recently found your double on Gaia when Saiko demanded that I use Project Soulforge to aid Terra. You see, Kuja, the so-called monster creating those wars on Gaia, was born on Terra. However, he went rogue and was plotting to overthrow Terra and Gaia together. You and McEvoy were to be the super soldier sent to stop him. In that respect, you've been the biggest failure of my career. Does Kuja even know that you're chasing after him?"

I didn't know if Innural or this Saiko guy knew about my knowledge of Final Fantasy IX or anything, but it would have made for a wonderful coincidence for them. Even so, trying to kill Kuja early would have just ended badly for us. Strong as we were, I still wasn't sure if we could beat him.

Apparently, Kaiten had heard enough. He retracted the short sword and landed a blow to Innural's gut that knocked the air out of him. Innural lurched forward and fell onto his knees. Kaiten just stared angrily at the weak man. There was no way he would let Innural ever stand again.

"If General Saiko betrayed me, then it'll be his own undoing," Kaiten said. "I'll find Olestan Military HQ and kill everyone who betrayed my team. Every one of them will regret their decision! They thought my team was full of monsters? They have no idea what a monster really is! I'll show them!"

Through Kaiten's death threat, Innural never turned his head up, but his shoulders started to shake as he laughed louder and louder. Soon he laughed so hard that he broke into a coughing fit, but still managed to chuckle throughout that.

"You'll find that's a little difficult to accomplish," Innural taunted. "When the Council of Vacyles decided to put the planet into stasis, they elected a leader to oversee the resurrection of the planet when the time was right. You see, General Saiko was given a healthy little promotion."

My eyes shot open when I realized who he was talking about. "_Wait, Kaiten… he's not talking about—_"

"These days, Saiko prefers to be called _Garland._"

Garland? The man who betrayed Kaiten was the same one who created Kuja and Zidane? The same one whose decision nearly brought Terra to collapse during the fusion with Gaia? It just seemed to unreal that I couldn't wrap my head around it.

"So General Saiko went on a power trip and prefers to call himself something else?" Kaiten asked. "Good. Then we know what we're dealing with."

"Don't you get it?" Innural said. "You've lost! I've seen your power differences and you can't compare to the upgrades Saiko has placed upon himself!"

"No, _you _don't get it!" Kaiten shot back. "I don't care how strong General Saiko, Garland, or whatever he wants to call himself is! He betrayed my team and that comes at a cost!"

"Hehehe… You'd never win. You've fought nothing but weak creatures while fighting alone weak creatures your entire life. Garland will kill you outright."

Kaiten stopped Innural's speech by planting his knee square in the madman's jaw. "Don't you DARE call them weak!" he demanded. "Trevor's allies from Gaia are stronger than you give them credit for. And the Spectral Knights were the strongest fighting force Terra has ever seen!"

"Not strong enough it seems," Innural said, getting one last jab in.

Kaiten gave him one more kick to the face. "Most people would be begging for life right now," he observed. "And you. You haven't aged a day since I saw you last. What's it been? A few years? A decade?"

"Not even close!" Innural said. "I don't fear you because I've obtained immortality!" He grabbed at the tear of skin where Kaiten had stabbed him in the stomach earlier. At first, I thought Innural was trying to psyche us out, but then I noticed that he wasn't bleeding. Not one drop came out of him. As he tore the skin back, I learned why.

"I've improved my body," Innural said, revealing the cybernetic body under his skin. "By combining my brilliant mind into this robotic frame, I can never die! I will be around to rule Terra when it finally absorbs Gaia! I will become legend! And it's all thanks to the experiments I performed on you and your worthless team one thousand years ago!"

_A thousand years?_ I thought to myself. My mind stopped when I heard those words, and I could sense Kaiten's blood running cold. It just wasn't possible. A thousand years? That was too long to even properly comprehend. How long had Garland plotted everything until he rose to power? How long had the souls of Terra integrated with the souls of Gaia? The history of this world was far more complex than the game let on.

"So what?" Kaiten said, brushing off the comment. "You're still conscious. This is for the Delores family and the people of Gaia you've hurt!"

Kaiten grabbed Innural by the hair in both hands and threw him into the middle of the room, crashing him into a table. Innural moaned in pain as he fell to the floor.

"Did you think that you could escape my wrath?" Kaiten said, holding both short swords in hand. "A thousand years? You could live for five thousand and the result would be the same! You murdered my friends and the best fighting team on the planet for kicks! I'm going to tear you apart for every one of them!"

"Even if you reduce me to a single microchip, I will not die!" Innural taunted. "I told you, I'm immortal!"

"I can work around that."

Kaiten rushed in so fast that even I couldn't see it. He stabbed Innural in the gut, twisting the blade and hoisting Innural over his head. Even though he was mostly mechanical, part of Innural was still organic and felt pain. He roared as the blade twisted and he was sent flying into a computer screen.

"That was for Zareth Melth," Kaiten said.

Innural rose on shaking legs. Suddenly, taunting Kaiten didn't seem like such a good idea. However, before he could beg for mercy, Kaiten powered up an Arc in each blade. One shot forth, cutting off Innural's right toes.

"That was for Karis Wark!" he cried. He sent another Arc out, cutting off Innural's left foot. "That was for Ank Fultide!"

Another Arc cut off his right leg up to his knee. "For Cyl Brensit!" The next cut off his left leg at mid-thigh. "For Borrik Helsa!"

Kaiten suddenly surged with energy, sending a dozen Arcs out at a time, each cutting off Innural's hands and arms, slivers at a time. I watched in amazement as Innural disappeared into ribbons section by section, all the while Kaiten cried out the names of his team with tears in his eyes.

"Remus Tilfan! Aiex Torren! Makareth Tirrel! Aitris Naze!"

When the flurry of Arcs stopped, Hart Innural was only a twisted torso with sparks shooting out of what were once arms and legs. Kaiten, in his rage, grabbed Innural and slammed him onto a table. He carried a blade high above his head…

"This one is for Trevor McEvoy!"

The short sword found its mark, piercing Innural dead center in his chest, right where his heart would have been. It pinned him to the table, leaving him effectively paralyzed.

"AND THIS ONE'S FOR ME!"

Kaiten finished his revenge on Innural by slamming the remaining short sword onto Innural's neck, decapitating him. His head fell, bouncing once on the floor before it rolled over on to its side.

With his rage subsided for the moment and his vengeance halfway complete, Kaiten pulled the second short sword out of Innural's chest and sheathed both blades. He recovered some of his composure, then rolled Innural's head until the two looked at each other eye to eye.

"You see?" Innural said. "Still alive. Your efforts are a complete waste."

"Maybe," Kaiten said. "But you can think about how badly I've beaten you over the next thousand years while you lay on the floor, alone, with no one to talk to and no way to call for help. Just imagine all the experiments you won't be able to do anymore."

Innural's eyes widened as his own rage piqued. He spoke while on the verge of screaming. "Don't assume this means anything!" he shouted. "I can rebuild myself! I am immortal!"

"With your ribbon arms? Or the torso you can't reach? Yeah, good luck with that."

"To hell with you!" Innural shouted in blind rage. "Give me my body back! I will destroy everything you cherish!"

"You already did," Kaiten said, narrowing his eyes. With one solid kick, he sent Innural's head flying into the back of the room. Innural grunted as he hit the far wall, then continued to curse Kaiten as the two of us walked out the door, sealing it behind ourselves.

"_What a sociopath,_" I said as we walked the long hallway back to the ground floor. "_Spending the rest of his life as an immobile head wasting away in the corner like that… I don't envy him_."

"It's better than what he deserves," Kaiten said. "Now we need to find a way to kill General Saiko."

"_Well, in the game, Kuja gives him the finishing blow. We could just wait for that._"

"Not good enough. I want to be the one to kill him. Not some last second villain."

"_Well, we could always just find the others. Zidane and his team must be in Bran Bal by now._"

"Yeah, wherever that is. General Saiko must've built it for his Genomes after Terra collapsed. But even if we find it, what makes you think the others will take you back or let you help them?"

"_I'll just talk to them. Maybe if I explain everything, they'll listen to me. It's about time I come clean anyway._"

"They've pegged you as a constant liar. If you go to them now and tell them about Earth, they'll just think you're lying again. Not to mention me. What proof can you show them that I'm real? Anyone can act like someone else. How do you prove you have two souls?"

How indeed? Zidane even went as far as attacking me last time I saw him. And Freya seemed to trust me least of all. Even if I repaired things with the others, she would likely never trust me again. And trying to reveal everything without any proof was just an accident waiting to happen.

We slowly made our way up to the ground floor. Kaiten gave me back control as we stepped into the cold air. Night had long since set, darkening the sky. Not even the stars were out tonight. The moon was gone, having long since materialized outside of Gaia. Its red light hadn't shined on Terra for a thousand years. It was strange stepping outside like this, knowing what I knew now.

"_Trevor, over there!_" Kaiten said. "_In that field to the left!_"

I looked through a broken wall into a field of scorched earth next to the building. There was a large jump jet sitting in the middle of a large burn mark. It was definitely not like a typical plane from earth. It had a long, boxy shape, rounded on the sides, with an angled front for the cockpit. The front glass itself was domed. The wings were flat and had large engines at the ends. The body thinned at the tail section. Whatever it was, it was mine now.

"_That's a KM/S Silver Dragon!_" Kaiten announced, as if I had any idea what he was talking about. "_Mark 1 I believe. I'd have to be closer to tell for sure. It's basically a personal plane. Innural must've been using it._"

"That's cool," I said. It did sound pretty cool to be honest. "Whatever it is, we can use it to get to the others, right?"

"_Basically, yes_," Kaiten said. "_Hang on, let me search your memories… The closest thing you have to it on Earth is… well, I guess it's the Harrier. Wow, is this it?_"

"What is it?"

"_Your knowledge on military hardware is severely lacking._"

"Well, sorry. I guess I didn't pay attention in my military piloting classes in college."

"_No, I mean you're _exceptionally_ lacking! In your memory book, you have a picture of a Harrier, then under that you have 'Harrier', 'very fast', and 'jump jets'. That's just embarrassing._"

"Haha, fuck you."

As we walked towards the jet, I took a quick glance into one of the rooms. Inside, on a table next to a filing cabinet, was a computer. The monitor was just a projection on the nearest wall coming from a tiny projector next to a keyboard. A small brick of electronics sat next to the monitor, adjacent to a stack of papers. Judging by the paper, it looked like a printer.

"Kaiten, did we just find a computer and a printer?"

"_That? Yes. And we also found a damn jet! Isn't that enough for you?_"

Stepping inside, I saw a large blue chestplate. It looked like the same armor Kaiten used when we found Damien.

"_That's obsidian plate!_" Kaiten said. "_Real quality stuff! My own team and I used that ourselves! We've got to take it!_"

I looked between the computer and the armor as an idea popped into my head. Something that might not let the others forgive me completely, but would probably let them fight by their side again. Right now, that was all we needed.

"Of course we're taking it," I said, lifting the armor off its rack. It was much lighter than it looked, but I could tell it would take an artillery shell just to crack it.

"_Why do you look like you have a diabolical plan?_" Kaiten asked.

I cracked my knuckles and smiled. "I'm the king of liars after all. If the others won't believe me about you or Earth, then I'll just have to come up with something else."

It was time to write an essay. I hoped I wasn't too out of practice since college.

XXXXXXXX

It's funny. I originally wanted this to be a short chapter, maybe around 5000 words or so, but then I got to writing everything and the dialogue just exploded on me! XD Oh well. I had fun writing it, so I can only hope you guys loved it too. XD

Now, I'm anticipating that some people would find it odd that I set the Great War 1000 years before the start of the game. Well, to be fair, I used the Final Fantasy IX wiki page and discovered that Terra was supposed to fuse with Gaia about 5000 years before the start of the game. That seemed a little much to me (and it was getting awkward writing in all these plotlines), so I shortened it a little. Go see for yourself and see if it makes any more sense.

Speaking of plotlines, I hope this all made sense to everyone. I wrote most of it in only a week (I know, I know. Blame my stupid job for the rush! XP), so much of this was pretty much on the fly. Still, there was one more CRUCIAL plot point that I just couldn't fit in. So, rather than suffocate Trevor and Kaiten (and you guys), I decided to hold it off for one more chapter. You'll get to see next time. ;)

Speaking of next time, guess what next month will be? That's right! Shattered Mind's 6th year anniversary! XD *Throws confetti everywhere* And I have two big presents for you guys for it! The first I'll reveal next chapter, but I will say this: buy an e-reader. ;)

The second surprise? Assuming I have the time, it'll be the conclusion of the Book of Destruction! How will Trevor confront Zidane and gang? How will Kaiten confront Garland? What hand will Kuja have in all of this? Find out in Project Soulforge's Results!

If you guys thought I'd answer that right now, then you clearly haven't been paying attention! Just remember, reviewing leaves me less tempted to give you horrid cliffhangers!

…

Please don't firebomb my new apartment. o.o


	18. Project Soulforge's Results

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy Characters in this story.

Author's notes: This is it. The final chapter of Book 3. Truth be told, it almost wasn't created. Writing the section in the middle when Trevor meets up with the others was so hard to plot out and took so many rewrites that I nearly gave up on it and took another month off. Good god! I couldn't even make up my mind with what I wanted to do with it for two weeks! I ended up staying awake until 2 AM rewriting it over and over again until I felt that I could accept it. But, in the end, I think I found a solution which satisfied my want to advance the story correctly and concisely, and keep you guys on the edge of your seat…

And by that I do mean an evil cliffhanger. :D What can I say? I'm an asshole.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. We should all be celebrating this glorious month of December for one special reason…

IT'S THE 5TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SHATTERED MIND! WHOOOOO! XDXDXD

Oh, and Christmas too, whatever that is. :P

Seriously though, I can't thank you guys enough for staying with this story. As I say ever year in these large speeches (that I imagine most people are skimming or skipping entirely anyway XP), its all possible because of your continued patient support, even through every evil cliffhanger that by right should have earned me a felony charge by now. :D

Oh, but this year is different. Remember last month when I said had two presents for you guys? I lied. I have three! And remember a few paragraphs ago when I said I had difficulty thinking of how to write this chapter? Well, two of those gifts are within the story itself, one of which being something that you guys have been waiting for, for months, if not years! I did my best within the constrains I'm bound by, but you'll know what I mean when you read it. And before you ask, yes, the second gift is the cliffhanger. No you can't return it.

Oh, but what's the third gift? What can I possibly give you guys outside of this story? Well, get your e-readers ready. Remember how I told you guys to get an ebook for Christmas last chapter? Well, guess why that would be? If you guessed it's because I'm buying you all a cruise to the Caribbean, then I'm afraid you're just an idiot. :P

Yes, my ebook is nearly done. I'll be taking a break from Shattered Mind for January to complete it, but that's not the special part. This is…

You guys have been reading these stories for a very long time. Months for most of you, years for some of you (extra special thanks to the latter group), telling me what you like, what you don't like, what works and what doesn't. You guys are the reason my writing has improved as much as it has, as well as my understanding of character and literary theory.

So, to say thanks, you guys are getting an extra special discount on my ebook as soon as it comes out! It currently stands at 30 pages on a normal word document and is some of the best work I've ever produced. I'll let you guys know the second it comes out and, once it does, if you buy it in the first week, you will be able to buy it at a low, low price.

Free.

This is a discount I'm only giving to you guys, and my parents. That's it. My friends on Facebook? My buddies at work? Everyone else I can rope into it? It'll cost them a couple of bucks. You guys? For being so awesome and sticking with Shattered Mind over the years, won't have to pay a cent. Or a pence. Or a… whatever your smallest local currency amount is. :P This story does attract attention outside the United States after all. XD

Now, keep in mind I don't know how to set the pricing or any of the mechanics, so right now, it's kind of a "promise in the works", but if that plan falls on its face, then we go with the backup plan! Give me your email and I'll send you a copy that way! Don't even want to bother buying an ebook? Give me your email and you get it that way!

All I ask in return is that you guys tell everyone you know to buy it and not to give it away for free. I'm trying to make a profit here and buff up my writing portfolio with this project, so you could really give me a huge hand by advertising this to all your friends and relatives. :P

The first 10 callers will also get a 'making of' DVD, complete with twenty hours of extras, as well as a hilarious blooper reel!

…Okay, couldn't help myself with that one. But what's the ebook about, you ask? Well, I don't want this to go on too long here (since I know some of you are DYING to get to the review button XD), so PM me and I'll respond to any questions you may have and I'll include a summery of the story. HOWEVER, I will release a summery next month on the 9th, as part of the same chapter as my teaser for the next book.

And that's it. Essay's over. I only now just realized how long this is and how late it is. I'm going to bed.

Hope you guys liked the chapter regardless of my waning sanity and lengthy speech. :P

And now for the next record-breaking chapter, I give you… 19000 words and 49 pages of awesome! You might want to get that snack now and hit the bathroom before you get too into it. XD

So, without further ado, please enjoy the 6th Year Anniversary, the end of Book 3 Destruction, the longest Shattered Mind chapter to date, the gifts to you, and two chapter titles! XD

Chapter 18- My Name is Trevor McEvoy. I Have Been Deceiving You. (Project Soulforge's Results)

XXXXXXXX

"_And you're sure this'll work?_" Kaiten asked as we drove the Silver Dragon jet through the dull gray sky. His knowledge of flying was about as accurate as my own, but I had lots of experience in flight sim video games. Even though our start was bumpy, I soon got used to the control stick. The throttle and speed were controlled by a pair of foot petals, which made piloting as easy as driving a car. The ride was awkward at first, but after an hour of flying, I was really getting the hang of it. Terran technology really was intuitive.

"I'm not sure of anything anymore," I said. "I'm supposed to be failing science classes in college, not fighting to save the universe in a video game with a Terran Spec Ops lieutenant stuck in my head."

"_So you claim. But we are taking something of a risk here. The monkey and the others could easily overtake us._"

"Don't worry, I'll make everything work out." I took a moment to adjust the new obsidian armor. It wasn't exactly built to fit me, so it shifted on me slightly, but I was sure I'd get used to it. I patted down the paper under my armor, double-checking that it was still there.

"_I dunno,_" Kaiten said. "_It still sounds like a stretch._"

"Just trust me on this," I said. "I'll make it work. We just need to find them."

I just had to hope they hadn't advanced too far in the storyline.

XXXXXXXX

Zidane couldn't believe it.

He wandered down the dark and gothic hallways. The walls were dark and intricately designed. It looked more like thousands of tree roots collected together and lined up side by side to make a tunnel. The large windows that broke between each few feet revealed an uncomfortable, glowing red light. He looked at it with disdain, hating what he had just learned.

He and the others finally managed to make their way to Terra, even after Trevor trashed their airship and escaped. They hadn't seen hide or hair of him since they arrived, but they swore to keep their eyes open. Cid even made a standing order that Trevor be captured or killed should any of them see him again.

After walking for half a day, they came across a small town, called Bran Bal, home of the Genomes. They were all surprised by what they saw, but Zidane was the most shocked since all the Genomes looked exactly like him, all with the same haircut and tails. The Genomes themselves didn't have souls or emotions, and therefore were generally unhelpful, but there was one young woman who stood out.

She was the one who drove everything to this point.

Zidane left to meet with Bran Bal's leader, Garland. He was a despotic old man with plans for absorbing Gaia into Terra. The plan was so ridiculous that Zidane refused to believe it when he first heard about it. However, Garland also had other information that Zidane didn't want to believe, but couldn't deny.

Like how he was created in Bran Bal.

And how Kuja was also a Genome. In a way, they were brothers.

Kuja was a failed experiment, and Zidane was meant to be his successor as the new Angel of Death, destined to serve Terra for the rest of time.

He couldn't believe it. All those friends he made on Gaia… the laughter, the shared tears… all for naught. He was meant to kill his friends for the glory and survival of an entirely separate planet! His destiny was the worst kind imaginable. At the end of their meeting, Garland cast a short spell on Zidane, knocking him out and deepening his depression.

Tormented by the news, Zidane secluded himself from the others. He locked himself in a room in Pandemonium, Garland's tower overlooking Bran Bal. However, the others found him, coming at him two at a time to talk him out of his foul mood. However, Zidane refused to listen to any of it. He walked away, leaving the others behind in the gloomy, twisted hallways.

His energy spent, Zidane leaned against the door in the very wide room adjacent to the halls. Secluded. Alone. He didn't need the others here. Oh how he wanted them closer, to accept him, but he knew it was too dangerous. If he was destined to kill them, then he wanted to create as much of a distance as he could to keep them safe.

"Just leave me alone," he spoke to no one in particular. "I don't want to trouble you guys anymore."

Zidane stood, using the last dregs of effort he had within himself. He walked with a limp, too tired to lift his left foot. "You're all a bunch of babysitting bastards."

He got to the center of the room, where the open roof let in more light. It was more diluted here, so it wasn't the uncomfortable red light from earlier, but there was still a slight tint of red. Zidane squinted up at the light, getting lost in it for the moment.

"But trust me… I know that I'm the worst bastard here."

A sharp roar let out through the wide room. In his depression, Zidane never noticed the shell dragon on the other side of the room. It was an enormous, lumbering beast that was more turtle than dragon. A shell covered the dragon's back with spikes, making it look like a house with a hideous face out front. A large bulbous chin completed the wretched picture.

Zidane didn't have the strength to defend himself, but he wasn't about to go down without a fight. He raised his daggers up to defend himself, but the ground shook with each step the shell dragon took. Zidane took the initiative and rushed at the monster. It was large and slow, so surely his agility would give him an advantage.

Zidane ran in close and gave a quick double-slash with both daggers along the monster's chin. They dug in deep, almost to the hilt. Zidane jumped back, pulling his daggers free as a thick trickle of blood streamed down the dragon's chin. However, the beast hardly noticed the injury and instead countered by bashing Zidane's entire body with a single swing of its chin. Zidane was picked up by the force of the blow and rolled several feet away.

With his mind too distracted by other things to be daunted, Zidane stood, getting his breath back as quickly as he could. He charged at the dragon once more, but this time, the beast took the offensive. It raised its massive paw in the air and slammed it into the ground, shaking the entire room and tearing up the floorboards. Zidane soon lost himself in the chaos and was forced to his knees. When he looked up, he saw the same paw coming down again, this time onto him.

With his strength gone, Zidane didn't have enough time to react. The clawed hand crashed down, slamming Zidane deeper into the hole the previous attack had made. His body wasn't crushed, but he hadn't entirely escaped the attack. The shell dragon moved its paw away, revealing a very badly beaten and bloody blond thief.

Zidane coughed as his lungs filled with blood. _So, this is it?_ he wondered. _At least I won't be able to hurt anyone…_

As the dragon opened its mouth, revealing rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth, a strange blue light filled the room. A small orb appeared in the middle of the room. The dragon looked at the Holy spell curiously for a moment, and then the orb attacked. It fed a string of blue light out like a tendril, going straight for the dragon's face. The beast roared in pain as the blue tendril burned at its skin, forcing it away from Zidane.

Zidane only watched, amazed at his luck, as a soft, green light surrounded his entire body. Waves and lines of white magic enveloped him as the Curaga worked its magic.

With his wounds completely healed, Zidane looked back to the door, and saw the only friend remaining who hadn't yet come to cheer him up.

"Dagger?" he asked, too softly for her to hear.

"Is this how you solve the problem?" she asked angrily, grabbing him and pulling him away from the retreating monster. "I won't let you get yourself killed! I…"

Zidane looked up, glad to see her, but unsure why she was here. He noticed that her cheeks were red and puffy. Had she been crying? For him?

"Come on!" Dagger encouraged. "You can attack it while I keep you healed."

"I don't think I can do much," Zidane said. "Its skin is so thick that I don't think I can get through."

"Should I use an eidolon?"

Across the room, the Holy spell disintegrated, earning an irritated growl from the shell dragon. It looked back at Zidane and Dagger, then opened its mouth wide to consume them. It charged forth in an awkward, but determined march.

"I don't think you have time!" Zidane yelled over the crashing footsteps. "Get ready to run!"

As the dragon neared the halfway point, a strange noise echoed throughout the room. It wasn't quite like anything Zidane had every heard before, but part of it sounded like an engine from an airship. He didn't have time to search for the source before a pair of red beams shot into the room from the ceiling, targeting the shell dragon and instantly disintegrating the back of its neck. The monster roared in pain as its spine was destroyed and the red lasers continued to burn away flesh and bone.

Although grateful for it, Zidane questioned the sudden change of luck. He looked up to the sky to see the source of the beams and saw an airship hovering just above. It was smaller than any other airship he had ever seen, but with a unique design all its own. It was sleeked, black, and powerfully armed.

The beams halted as the dragon lay dead, nearly decapitated. Its head now hung off at an unnatural angle, bleeding very little thanks to the coagulating effect from the lasers' heat.

The airship maneuvered into the large room, positioning itself next to the dragon's corpse. The wind picked up intensely as the airship neared the floor. Zidane and Dagger covered their eyes as the dust blew in their faces.

The noise subsided after a moment, as did the dust subsequently. Zidane looked up and saw a man standing in the open cockpit wearing blue plate armor, unlike anything he had seen on Gaia before. He grit his teeth at the familiar face.

"Trevor!" he shouted. "What are you doing here?"

XXXXXXXX

It took us another hour, but we were finally able to make it to Bran Bal. The large blue forest of artificial trees made the area easy to spot from far off. Each tree was basically a large stalk with a flattened mushroom head on top. Some trees had branches with smaller mushroom heads, but they all gave way when a small village opened up before us. All throughout the forest of fake trees, there was a soft blue light, except for around one of two towers just outside Bran Bal. There, a harsh, red light pierced the area.

There was very little in architecture to Bran Bal. The entire city was built on a plateau, with only two tiers to it. The first tier connected a bridge to a path leading deep into the forest. That must have been the way Zidane and the others came in. The second tier was set lower and encompassed the entire village. The city was circular, with a small blue lake in the middle and houses bordering the lake. The houses themselves looked more like huts with steeple crowns. I was bored of the place in seconds.

"_Look at them all down there,_" Kaiten said. "_All of them look exactly the same… I can't believe this is what my planet has been reduced to._"

"Sad to say, but it looks like you're the last active soul from Terra," I said. "I'm sorry Kaiten."

"_Don't be_," he said. "_You're the only one from your planet here too. We're in the same boat_."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we are."

I scanned the village below. Some of the genomes took notice of our airship, but their expressions never went beyond bored disinterest. What a sad life to live. Not having emotions must have been boring as hell. Then again, they probably didn't comprehend boredom.

"I don't see the others," I said after a moment. "You?"

"_Nothing. Where did you say they were going after this?_"

"Pandemonium. Garland's tower. The planet's not on fire yet, so they should still be there."

I looked up outside the village. Not far, there was a single tower rising over the trees, capped with a red dome. It looked like a tower out of Lord of the Rings that someone stuck a wad of gum on top of. I knew that part was his observatory though, where Garland monitored the passage of souls between Terra and Gaia as the worlds slowly merged.

"They've got to be heading to Garland by now," I said. "We'll have to cut them off."

"_Right. Are you sure you won't botch that cover story of yours?_"

"I'll be fine. Just keep your eyes open for them."

I started the ship towards Pandemonium. The only way there was through a magic portal, so I didn't see anything of a path until we reached a small brown building made of spikes and spires jutting out of the ground. It looked like it belonged in a comic book nightmare, but my first thought was that it was the building Zidane woke up in after confronting Garland. There was a long reticulated hallway leading up to the tower, so the possibility made sense.

"_You think that's anything?_"

"It has to be. Nothing else around here has any distinct features. I'm going in for a closer look."

The hallway itself was an odd structure. A thin stretch of halls would open up into a wide room, then close back up further on into a hallway again, only to open into another wide room, then a hallway again. The pattern repeated itself several times until we reached one room without any roof. It looked like something had crashed into it. I flew in circles around the structure, analyzing the inside.

"Think anyone's in there?" I asked. "I could always land and search on foot."

The building shook as something inside started moving. Something big. I thought the floor was shifting at first, but I took a closer look and saw a giant turtle the size of a house moving towards the other side of the room.

"_What the hell is that?_" Kaiten asked.

"I don't know, you tell me! It's your planet."

"_Either way, it's…"_ Kaiten paused for a brief second before he yelled, "_Trevor, down there! Other side of the room_!"

I pulled the Silver Dragon around once to get a look at where the giant turtle was waddling. Backed up against the wall were Zidane and Dagger. Now I remembered! That monster was a shell dragon and it was the final obstacle before overcoming Zidane's depression.

Maybe I could help out _and_ make a good impression.

"Kaiten, does this thing have weapons?"

"_Probably,_" he said. "_Most airships come with their own battery or two of missiles or lasers._"

"Missiles would probably be overkill that close to Zidane and Dagger. Which button activates the lasers?"

"_Try the red one, left side of the control panel, third row down. The writing underneath it is Terran for 'dual cannons'._"

"Nice," I said.

I brought the Silver Dragon around once more, activating the jump jets and putting it in hover mode just fifty feet above the dragon below. My brief "lesson" when this ride started taught me which buttons and switches were safe to press, so I went straight to work.

"Activating jump jet systems and geo-stabilizers," I said, pushing several buttons while the lasers charged. "All systems normal. Maintaining orbit and acquiring target. Weapons armed and prepared to launch countermeasures."

"_Stop that_!" Kaiten yelled. "Yo_u're just shouting a bunch of pseudo-military gibberish_."

"I'm piloting a damn jet armed with lasers! Let me have my fun!" Being a dork could be awesome sometimes.

As the jet hovered, a panel opened on the main dashboard. A targeting reticle appeared over the dragon below just as a confirmation tone sounded off. I pressed the button that Kaiten said fired the lasers. The entire airship rocked at first as a pair of thick red beams shot into the monster's neck.

"Holy—! That's our laser?" I blurted out.

"_About what I'd expect from a ship this size,_" Kaiten said.

We looked through the panel as the lasers continued to eat away at the dragon's neck. Flesh and bone burned under the intense heat, until the monster couldn't scream anymore. It fell over, favoring one side as its head hung limp from a charred stump. It was a disgusting display, but I'd take that over dead allies any day.

"Alright, that's done," I said. I flipped a few switches on the dashboard and the jump jets slowly lowered down. I had to guide it in messily, avoiding the dragon, for the last dozen feet or so, but the landing gear deployed and we hit the ground with only a small bump.

I powered down the engines, halting the winds the jump jets were creating in the small room. Zidane and Dagger looked up at me, with anger and surprise respectively. I opened the cockpit, raising the windshield and standing in my seat, but I didn't get out quite yet. I had to know Zidane wouldn't attack me.

"Trevor!" he called out. "What are you doing here?"

Acting time.

"Fulfilling my second objective," I said.

Zidane's eyes widened for a moment before they returned to his previous glare. "So you _are_ working with Kuja! Or is it Garland?"

"Garland _is_ my next objective," I explained. "And Kuja's after that."

"Then why are you here? What's with that new armor? Why did you smash up the Hilda Garde III?"

"I told you that I would explain everything when we got to Terra, didn't I? Put down your weapons and I can talk."

"You think we'd trust you after everything you've done?"

I pulled both of my short swords by the pommel. Zidane adopted a defensive stance with his daggers while Dagger readied her staff. However, it was ultimately meaningless when I tossed both short swords towards Zidane. They landed at his feet, leaving myself unarmed.

"Now I'm defenseless," I said. "Can we talk?"

"What about that light show you used on the monster?" Zidane asked. "You're still in the airship."

I resisted the temptation to slap my forehead. He was being particularly stubborn today. Maybe the commotion I caused on the Hilda Garde III was worse than I thought. They must have been pretty pissed off when I escaped and damaged the bridge like that. Poor Erin though, having to pilot through those intense winds.

I leapt out of the airship, completely at Zidane's mercy. I held my arms out at my sides, doing my best to show that I wouldn't attack him.

"How about now?" I asked.

Zidane watched me for a moment, as if I were about to double cross him at any second, but he dropped his guard and kept his daggers by his side. I would have liked to think it was a sign of trust, but his weapons were still in his hands regardless.

"Fine," he said. "Just answer me this first: who are you? Who are you really working for?"

I had been preparing for this moment for a while. It was now or never. Nothing left to lose. "My name is Trevor McEvoy, I never lied about that. However, you could call me a kind of… Special Forces officer. I'm armed with information far beyond your grasp, and have been for months. Information that was previously only known to two high ranking Terran officials and myself."

Dagger gasped and Zidane grit his teeth, saying, "I knew it!" He took a step forward with his daggers drawn, ready to cut me down. I held a hand up to stay him.

"Wait!" I told him, raising my hands defensively. "Don't get the wrong idea. I don't work for anyone. Just for myself."

"Then why did you stay with us?" Zidane asked. "Why should we trust you if you ever worked for anyone from Terra?"

"I never worked for Terra," I said. It was the truth, for once. "I was experimented on by Terra and left to fend for myself. This armor you see? I stole this from one of the monsters responsible. Now I'm moving on to my next target, but he's much stronger. I need your help."

"Whoa, hold on!" Zidane insisted. "You were experimented on? By who? For what?"

I did my best to hide my grin as I saw my plan was working. "The experiment was designed to create a super soldier. Someone capable of fighting an entire army alone and coming out unharmed. Or, in my case, one individual, namely Kuja. I was meant to kill him, and to that end, my soul was twisted and distorted. In the end, the experiment worked, some side effects notwithstanding. That's why I'm the only one on the planet who can use Purple Magic."

"You make it sound like you were tortured," Zidane said. "Who did it to you?"

"The first man was a madman named Hart Innural. He's dead now. Filled in a lot of the blanks. I found him and stole his airship before I found you. The second was Garland. I'm pretty sure here's at the top of that tower back there." I pointed to the top of Pandemonium behind myself.

Zidane's eyes went wide. He and Dagger traded glances for a moment. I had to be careful of what information I fed them. They weren't ready to hear about Earth, but Kaiten? Were they ready for him?

"It can't be the same guy," Zidane said. "The way here was locked. How could he travel between Gaia and Terra?"

"Maybe he has some key to unlocking the portal between our worlds?" Dagger asked, cutting him off. "Trevor, are you sure you've seen the same Garland before?"

"Tall man, bald, long beard, black armor," I started to describe. "Red gem at the center of his chest. Sound about right?"

"Yeah, that's… that's it actually," Zidane said. "I can't believe it."

"I was experimented on in Dali," I explained. I was surprised that the information flowed as easily as it did. "When I was released, my captors ran off, presumably back here to Terra, and I had no idea what they had done."

"And that's when we found you tied up, right?" Zidane asked.

"Yup."

"And you already said this experiment made you stronger, but I've been thinking about Ipsen's Castle. Does this experiment explain how you knew where to go so suddenly? I mean, you knocked a platform down and led us right to the end. Do you know everything now or only random bits and pieces?"

"I wouldn't say I know everything," I admitted. "I think what little info I did know was from the experiment. Every now and then, I'd get this flash of insight, like this voice that was telling me what to do, you know what I mean?"

"Not really, but keep going."

"Right, well… I started thinking about everything and what the experiment had done to me. I realized that I had to find the two old men who did this to me and stop them from doing it to anyone else and stop them from whatever they had been planning. However, I also had to follow you guys and help you stop Kuja. It's just lucky that both our paths led us to Terra. Now I can finally let you know about all this."

"You could have just told us beforehand!" Dagger said. "Trevor, you were one of us! We would have listened!"

"Really?" I said. "Because I sure as hell didn't believe it at first! What would you say about me if I told you all of this in Lindblum? 'Oh, that makes sense. Some creeps from another planet thought I was special, so they experimented on my soul and made me into a super soldier at the cost of my sanity.' You guys would have dumped me the first chance you got!"

Zidane just shook his head. "So you… All this time, you had this terrible secret that you were keeping from us?"

I just nodded again. "At first, I just didn't want to bother you with my problems. We were kinda running away from Black Waltzes at the time and I didn't have a chance to really tell you about it. But after a while, it was just because I just got so used to being isolated with this secret that I wasn't comfortable talking about it at all. So, for being deceitful, you have my apologies."

Zidane looked at me in confusion. "So, when you started getting angry at everything for no reason?"

"That was a side effect of the experiment," I said. "Don't worry, I settled everything. You won't be seeing that side of me, unless the rest of you are laying dead or something extreme like that."

"And when the monster in the Iifa Tree said you had two souls?"

I paused for only a moment. This could have been the perfect chance to reveal Kaiten to them, but I decided against it. They already had enough information flowing that I didn't want to make my situation any more difficult to believe. "That might have been what the experiment was. That was my thought at the time anyway."

Dagger stepped up, staring at me hard as if she were having a hard time believing any of this. However, I saw her frown sadly as she stared deeply into my eyes. She walked over to me and we stood inches apart.

"So, what are you?" she asked. "Are you a college student like you said?"

"I was," I said, not clarifying at all. "I wanted to go back to my classes, but this mission of ours was much more important. I only had everyone's best interest at heart."

"So, you really did all of this to help us?" she asked. "You were part of this horrible experiment that hurt you, drove you insane, and you had to hide it all to yourself?"

I nodded. "I was worried that if you found out about the experiment early, then you wouldn't trust me and you'd try to get rid of me. If that happened, I couldn't stop Kuja or find the two old men. I guess that plan didn't exactly work out. Again, I'm sorry."

"No, you don't have to apologize," Dagger said. I thought she was about to cry for me. "You must have been in so much pain. It must have been so hard for you to endure."

"Hey, it wasn't that bad," I said.

"You're lying again," Dagger said. She took a sharp breath in and stepped in, embracing me. I was set off by the mood at first, but accepted it after a moment and returned the hug. The moment was warm and welcome. I felt truly accepted for the first time since I arrived to Gaia, like I never had to tell another lie to get along anymore.

"That's enough," Dagger spoke into my armor. "You don't have to burden yourself anymore. You've done so much to help us. We'll help you from now on."

I smiled at Dagger as she pulled back. "Thanks Dagger," I said warmly.

I never saw the slap coming.

"Ow!" I cried out, holding my face. "What was that for?"

"You know what," Dagger said, using every ounce of authority at her disposal in her voice. And since she was a queen, that authority was quite substantial. "You are never allowed to lie to us or run away from us again."

I rubbed my sore cheek and chuckled at her. "Yes, your highness."

"It's Dagger to you," she said, walking back to Zidane.

"So, what now?" Zidane asked. "What does your 'inner voice' say we should do?"

"Kill Garland and Kuja, what else?" I said. "We're close, and Garland's bound to be at the top of that tower. I don't know where Kuja is though."

"That'll have to work," Zidane said. "I'll go get the others and we can—"

"HALT ROGUE!"

Our conversation was interrupted as Steiner and Quina barged into the room. They must have grown impatient waiting for Dagger to return with Zidane and walked in to help. However, it was clear they had no intention to forgive what I had done as they took one look at me and drew their weapons. Even Quina looked angrier than I had ever seen him before.

Steiner was quick to come to Dagger's defense. He jumped between us and aimed his sword at me. "Your highness! Stay back!"

"Steiner?" Dagger cried out in surprise.

"You hurt friends and you hurt ship!" Quina shouted, flanking me to the right. "I not even eat you! I just kill you!"

Perfect. Now I had no weapons, backup plan, or time to get into my ship. I held my hands out to defend myself, as if it would do anything to stop a broadsword and a pointy fork.

"Guys, stop!" Zidane shouted. "He already explained everything to us. He was never working for Kuja!"

"Wha—?" Quina asked, dropping his guard. "But he attack us!"

Zidane crossed his arms. "I guess, we backed him into a corner." He gave me a subtle glance. I could tell he didn't trust me fully, and I wasn't sure he ever would again, but right now, what he gave me was enough.

"But Regent Cid gave us orders to capture or kill him!" Steiner argued. "I am duty bound to arrest this criminal!"

"Adelbert Steiner!" Dagger shouted, causing the knight to jump. "Put your sword down now! Trevor has been working for us this entire time!"

"But the Regent gave us a standing order," Steiner said. He lowered his sword, but not entirely.

"You're not in Uncle Cid's army, you're in mine!" Dagger ordered. "Now sheath your blade!"

"But…"

Dagger folded her arms, giving him her trademark stern glare. Steiner didn't refuse her orders further and sheathed his sword without another word.

"What going on?" Quina asked, tying his fork back onto his belt.

"Yes, I'm curious as well," Steiner said. He turned to me and asked, "What exactly have you done to help us?"

I wanted to knock some sense into him, or maybe just call him an ingrate, but Dagger beat me to it. "I'll explain later," she said. "Right now, we need to find the others."

"As you wish," Steiner submitted. He walked out of the room with Quina right behind him.

"Zidane, are you coming?" Dagger asked as she started to leave too.

"I'll be right there," he said. "Trevor and I need to go over our next move first."

She looked at him quietly for a moment, then reached out and took hold of his arm, giving him a comforting squeeze. She smiled at him when he looked up, but didn't say a word. She didn't need to. She simply left to recover the others further up the corridors.

With just the two of us, Zidane knelt down and picked both my short swords up, carrying them over to me. "I believe you dropped these," he said.

I took them both and sheathed one of them. "Thanks," I said. "Sorry about that back there."

"You mean about abandoning us, wrecking the Hilda Garde III, going off—"

"No, I meant about stealing the spotlight between you and Dagger, but, yeah, those things too."

Zidane shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Dagger helped cheer me up before you got here."

"Good," I said. "We don't need a mopey leader now."

I walked over to a large stretch of floor and extended a Demon Saber. The floor was made of thick, but simple wood, so it cut easily enough. I began burning a simple floor plan into it, detailing the tower up ahead.

"You know, you've always been an inspiration to all of us," I said. "I don't know if the others told you that or not, but I always thought it was admirable how you were willing to put yourself in danger for the sake of others."

"It's nothing they wouldn't have done for me," he said.

"Perhaps, but it's still an all-too rare personality type. You've always been the perfect person to lead this team we have going. I hope you know that no one else could have united a group like what we have."

Truth be told, Zidane _was_ a big inspiration for me growing up. I first played Final Fantasy IX when I was fourteen and still impressionable. Zidane became the perfect role model for me and I aspired to be like him. Hell, the reason I started growing my hair out in the first place was because of him! Meeting him in real life had been more fun than I had ever thought it could have been. I just wish this experiment didn't get in the way and ruin my reputation halfway through.

"There, finished," I said, withdrawing the Demon Saber and sheathing my weapon. "From what I can tell, there's still a quarter mile to the tower's base. Here, you can see that—"

"What is this?" Zidane asked when he saw my crude drawing.

"Battle plan," I said. "I might as well share what I know with you."

"No, I mean… what the hell is this? I can't make heads or tails of it."

I looked again at my "floor plan". True, it wasn't perfect, and in fact was hard to distinguish from random scribbling, but scarring things into the floor with a lightsaber wasn't exactly a common medium. It was a miracle that my sketch of Zidane on the 'info sheet' came out as well as it had.

"Just… bear with me, ok?" I asked.

"Fine. So what are we dealing with?"

"The tower, from what I could tell when I was flying around it, is about twenty stories tall. There's a large platform at the top overlooking the entire area. If Garland is anywhere, my guess is he's there, at the top of that platform. I'm going to fly up and meet you guys there. I don't want the others to nearly attack me like Steiner almost did." It wasn't a lie so much as it was a cover story. I needed to get ahead to confront Garland one on one. Kaiten was going to need some closure before we killed the traitor.

"Sounds like a plan," Zidane said. "So we'll see you at the top of the tower?"

"Unless I get shot down. Which I won't."

"Alright," he said. Zidane turned back to the door to join the others as I jumped up into the cockpit. I was about to start the engines again when the blond thief faced me again and said. "I'm sorry we doubted you. We were wrong to do it."

I just looked back at him and shook my head. "Don't be. You had every reason to suspect me."

Zidane gave me an understanding nod and grinned.

"Thanks Trevor," he said. "I'll see you up there."

"Aye," I nodded. "Good luck."

Zidane walked to the door and left the room. I sat back in the cockpit, closing the windshield as the engines started up and kicked more dust around the room.

"_That was unexpected_," Kaiten said as we lifted off. "_I thought you were going to lie again. You told me you were going to assume my identity and play off their emotions._"

"I was," I said. "But the more I thought about it, the less right it seemed. This way is at least a glimpse at the truth. I wanted to tell them everything, but I've pushed my luck enough as it is. Baby steps, you know? Maybe I can tell them about Earth sometime later."

"_Hmm, maybe. It would be better not to scare them into rejecting you again._"

I pulled the files I had written in Innural's lab from my armor. They contained documents on Zidane and Terra, which were no longer of any use to me. I grinned, elated that the truth had come out so cleanly, even if not completely. The others would get their chance to know the whole story though.

Someday…

With the Silver Dragon clear of the room, I turned it up and soared straight for the top of Pandemonium. Garland had a lot to answer for…

XXXXXXXX

It took us only moments to fly to the top of Garland's tower. The Silver Dragon was the fastest and most maneuverable piece of equipment I had ever laid my eyes on. Using its lasers to kill Garland probably wouldn't suit Kaiten very well, but it would make the job a hell of a lot easier.

"Just like before," I said as we circled the top, searching for a decent landing pad. "Once we get out, you wanna take over?"

"_You couldn't stop me if you tried_," Kaiten said. "_I respected this man more than anyone else. He sent me in to fight ridiculously difficult battles and I went in without question. Maybe if I had challenged his orders in Ckelen-te-Clu, things would have worked to our benefit. Maybe we could have all survived, and then the others wouldn't have been killed and had their souls used like that_…"

"It wasn't your fault," I reminded him. "Garland sold you out. He deserves every ounce of blame in this."

"_I'm aware of that, but it still doesn't make this any easier._"

The top of the tower was a large, flat surface which jutted out on one side of the entire tower, designed to overlook this section of Terra. From up here, you could see all the way to the edge of the blue forest and the artificial trees, which reached most of the way to the horizon. The upper deck was composed of several large circles carved into the floor, each ten feet in diameter with a spiral pattern embedded in them.

There, at the edge of the platform, overlooking Bran Bal, was General Arin Saiko.

Garland.

The man stood tall, in black armor with a flowing cape. His attire contained a dark atmosphere about him, and only the red gem at the center of his chest gave him any appearance of life. His hair was gone, save for the sides and back of his head in long flowing elegance, matched in length and style by his beard.

I landed the Silver Dragon on the opposite edge, right next to what looked like the staircase leading up. Garland knew we were there, but didn't even turn to acknowledge us. As soon as the engines were off, Kaiten took over the body and opened the cockpit, landing hard with a single bound.

There was a long, dramatic silence between the two of them. Garland stood, facing away, as if he didn't even care that we were there. Kaiten, however, stood petrified and didn't say a word, as if he were too nervous to move forward. After being betrayed by someone he respected and trusted so much, I couldn't blame him.

"_Kaiten?"_ I asked. "_Need a hand here?_"

_No,_ he told me. _I've got this._

"Sir," Kaiten finally said, stepping into the middle of the platform.

"Hello Lieutenant," Garland said, finally turning around. "I knew you would reach this point someday."

"Then why did you do it?" Kaiten asked, keeping his anger in check. "My team would have died for you, but not like that! How could you sell us out that way?"

Garland finally turned, but he had a saddened expression about him. "Lieutenant Saeis, please believe me when I say that my actions then were some of the most difficult I had ever had to do. Hart Innural had joined the Council of Vacles and insisted that he had the solution to our planet's growing problem. He had the math, the theories and the equipment to accomplish all that he promised. We were desperate to heal the planet and continue our existence as a whole."

"And in that desperation, you told them about my team and how we could all use Purple Magic?"

"No!" Garland shouted. "Hardly the thought. I never brought you or your team to mention! Innural found out about your exploits through an intricate spy system. When he suggested we use your teams' souls to power the life crystal, most of the Council approved. Sacrificing a few soldiers who were likely to die anyway to save a whole planet was an obvious choice for them, but I refused to give in to them."

Kaiten scoffed. "Until you did anyway!"

"You don't understand," Garland said, growing quiet. "I fought them and their ambitions for _three years_, hiding your team and keeping you on the move to protect you. The war was progressing as we had planned and I truly believed that letting the souls combat each other would cure everything. I had no way to know that I was wrong. I was finally backed into a corner and given no choice in the matter. Terra and all its people had to survive."

"But you still sold us out in the end," Kaiten said, finally moving his hands to the short swords. "I had the team follow your plan exactly. They were all slaughtered! For Terra's sake, Makareth died in my arms! Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Garland folded his hands behind his back and stayed silent. He only lowered his head slightly, as if in apology.

"I trusted you. My entire team trusted you, but you killed us! And for some reason, you brought Trevor into this! Was it not enough that you inflicted misery on only Terra? You had to move to Gaia and Earth as well?"

"Trevor was—"

"I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING HEAR IT! You stole Trevor's life from him and murdered my team! And Trevor did everything he could to cover up after you! He lost his sanity, developed a psychotic personality that nearly killed us both, and lost the trust of everyone he knew on Gaia! He lost everything, and I lost everything! We are completely alone now! And for what? To kill Kuja? Something _you_ could have done long ago! What gives you the right to destroy so many lives? We are not your damned toys!"

Garland stared hard at Kaiten, but the betrayed lieutenant wasn't about to back down. Kaiten once told me that General Saiko was like a father to him. I couldn't imagine my own father doing something like this to me, or what I would even feel like if he did. I watched helplessly, knowing there was nothing I could do to help him this time.

"I know," Garland said after a moment. "And I realized too late what a mistake it was. I had a duty, not just to my soldiers and my country, but as a member of the Council of Vacles, I had a duty to the entire planet. However, months after the betrayal, Innural told us that the experiment had been a failure. My planet was still dying, the war was still raging, and I had betrayed my best military team for nothing."

Garland shut his eyes and turned away. He couldn't even look at Kaiten anymore. His shame wouldn't allow it.

"I won't survive this day," Garland finally said, shocking Kaiten.

"What did you say?" Kaiten demanded.

"Kuja will succeed in his plans. At least for now." Garland turned his back to us and faced his observatory. The tower was almost as tall as the tower we were already in, but the last three stories were encapsulated in a large red sphere. Dark red veins grew from the base, making it look like a massive eye gazing up into the sky.

"My observatory has so much power," he said. "The citizens of Bran Bal believe that I use it to watch over them and to watch the stars, but it is not that kind of observatory. No, it is far more powerful than that. This technological marvel can watch the movement of souls. In some moments, it can even predict the future paths of some souls. After Kuja had escaped, I spent my time attempting to find him again. Much to my dismay, he was growing stronger, until I realized that his current path would mix with Zidane's and the two of them would come back to kill me.

"Eight months ago, I finally saw what Kuja's movements could only result in: the annihilation of Terra. He would kill me and ruin this world and its people. I took a desperate measure and reconvened with that wretched soul Hart Innural. I never trusted him, so I watched him closely over the past millennium. I knew he still kept your soul in stasis. It turned out he had been searching for a compatible match for your soul for a long time, so, I told him to use it, perhaps to intercept Kuja. If we put you together with Zidane, you would run into him, hopefully in combat, and I knew you would win."

Garland turned back to face us, this time though, with a depressed look. "I am so sorry Kaiten. I never meant for it to go this far."

Kaiten just stood in awe. For a moment, clouded in emotion, it seemed like Kaiten understood everything that his old general was saying, as if it were reasonable. Kaiten had to take a deep breath to hold back a tear, running a hand over his face as if to hide himself. Even now, he wouldn't allow himself to show weakness.

"Your experiment was flawed," Kaiten said. "Trevor was left mostly in charge of the body since he was in it first, and he could best me in the subconscious world where we could openly fight. He's a creative bastard. And the experiment created another personality within Trevor called Damien. The psychotic freak nearly killed the both of us as soon as we landed on Terra. I don't know what your observatory said your experiment would do, but it doesn't make any damn sense to me!"

"The observatory only followed Kuja's and Zidane's souls," Garland explained. "You were a wild card I had hoped to play. But, there is one more flaw you should be aware of."

Kaiten raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"I don't know if Innural told you, but when two souls are combined into the same body, they must be compatible, on the exact same wavelength and frequency. Or else—"

"Or else the souls fade and the body rots from the inside out," Kaiten said. "Yeah, he told me."

Garland nodded. "Well, I am afraid we may have acted prematurely. Innural assumed he had found your matching soul in Trevor, but he had no way to transfer Trevor's body, and yours was long gone, so he fused you both into the body of a third matching soul."

"I know, I said he told us already," Kaiten said impatiently. "What are you trying to say?"

"There is a problem," Garland admitted. "Your souls are not compatible."

"_What?_" I blurted out. "_Dude, tell me he's joking!_"

_No… no he's…_ Kaiten said, alarmed and with wide eyes. _This man has never told a joke in his life._

"But how can two souls match perfectly?" Garland said. "I realized too late that each soul belongs to a different personality, with their own desires, dreams, tastes and styles. You and Trevor have plenty of differences between the two of you, as I'm sure you've noticed. That is enough. Genetically, you are a perfect match, but for two souls to be in perfect sync, you would have to be the exact same person in two different universes. You two are very similar, but not exactly the same."

"So what are you saying?" Kaiten asked. "That we're… gonna die?"

Garland nodded. "Yes Lieutenant, I'm afraid that you are. I don't know how much longer you have, but you've been together for several months now. You probably don't have much longer."

"_But that's impossible!"_ I said. "_I feel fine! Maybe he's wrong. I haven't noticed anything wrong with our body either!_"

_Maybe,_ Kaiten said. _Unless…_

Kaiten loosened the ties on the armor, opening the panel over out stomach. He lifted my shirt and examined the bare skin, but there was something clearly wrong. Even though we had used an elixir to cure everything only a few hours ago, there was a massive bruise covering our entire stomach. I stared at the blacks and blues on my skin for a moment, wondering how something like that was even possible.

"Your body has already started to rot," Garland said. "You may have less time than I thought."

"But this…" Kaiten started to say. "This shouldn't be possible! I just came back to life! Are you saying I'm going to die again?"

I couldn't believe it. I had just learned that my body was not my own, that my real body was in a coma and my father was all alone, and now I was going to die? When the hell would things turn in my favor? Hadn't I dealt with enough? Give me a fucking break! This couldn't be real. There had to be a mistake.

"Sir," Kaiten said, closing the armor slowly. "Are you sure you're right? Absolutely sure?"

"I wish I could say otherwise, but I'm afraid so," Garland said. "Once I learned about your condition, I tried to remedy it as quickly as I could, but you arrived here with Kuja in tow too quickly and I ran out of time. I'm sorry, but I didn't have enough time."

"Kuja's here?" Kaiten asked. "Already?"

"We don't have much time," Garland said, taking a few steps forward. "He will be here soon, and he's infused himself with the souls gathered from Gaia on the Invincible. He's made himself far stronger than myself."

That's right. Kuja was already on Terra and had stolen the Invincible, Garland's soul-gathering flagship. With it, Kuja was able to absorb the dormant souls, giving himself a massive steroid injection with all that power. How long did we have until he got here to kill Garland? Would the others arrive in time?

"There's not much I can do for you Lieutenant," Garland said, placing a hand caringly on Kaiten's shoulder, like a father would. "But there is one thing that may help."

"What's that?"

"I can give you back the trust of your friends."

With that, Garland swung his arm back and backhanded Kaiten in the face, knocking him through the air and crashing hard into the building. Kaiten landed with the wind knocked out of him in a coughing fit. However, I soon realized why he had changed face so suddenly.

"Trevor!" came a voice, followed by rushing footsteps. Kaiten looked up and I saw Zidane kneeling over us, placing a hand on our back to support us. Behind him were Dagger, Vivi and Steiner.

"You four?" he asked. "Wait, where are the others?"

"They got caught up fighting monsters at the base of the tower," Zidane explained. "They bought us some time, so let's not waste it."

"You fool!" Garland interrupted from the other end of the platform. "You could have had power eternal! You could have ruled as a Prince of Terra, yet instead you choose to fight me beside these… lesser creatures?"

_What the hell is he doing?_ Kaiten asked, surprised by the general's actions.

I smiled when I finally saw through the deception. "_He's giving us a second chance._"

"Trevor, what's he talking about?" Zidane asked. "What's going on?"

_This is more your area of expertise,_ Kaiten said. _I'm falling back._

Sensation returned to me quickly and I collapsed again. Soon, I was coughing as well, trying to recover my lost breath.

"Sorry guys," I choked. "Got impatient… Went to face him before you got here…"

"Zidane," Garland said, turning around. "There's the observatory where you said you would become my angel of death and try to kill me… But think for a moment… Isn't life death itself? It must kill other life forms in order to survive. Sometimes it even kills those with whom it shares blood. To live is to give life meaning, yet one must take others' lives to survive. A mature civilization becomes aware of this paradox. Terra's souls will sleep until they forget such nonsense. They will begin a new life in a new world. It's a world in which life and death become one. That is the world we are destined to live, in a dimension that transcends death. And so, I ask you again Zidane. Who are you?"

Zidane rose and stood before us at the front of our group, standing as the true leader. He was defiant, even in these odds. "You're a sad man Garland," he began. "We know more than you. We may not be perfect, but we have friends who help us. That's reason enough to keep living."

Steiner stood next, drawing his sword and standing behind Zidane. "I may not know how to answer your question, but I am free to answer it however I would like!"

"Weakness is irrelevant," Dagger said, pulling my shoulder and helping me to my feet. "As long as we help each other, we can make it out of anything!" She gave my hand a squeeze, as if signaling that all was forgiven with me. I looked back to her in surprise, but she gave me a smile in return.

Garland took a few steps towards us, clearly not intimidated by the dramatic speeches. "Then your answers are exactly the same as his," he said, pointing to me.

The others glanced at me for a moment, but there was a spark in each of them. A glint in their eyes of something I thought I had lost long ago.

Trust.

"If you are so adamant in your beliefs, then show me," Garland said. "Lecture me again when you are on the verge of death."

Everyone drew their weapons, including myself. I felt good about the situation. Almost giddy in fact. I was fighting alongside my friends again, just like we had so long ago. I relished the thought and eagerly looked forward to battle. However, my head perked up as I saw Garland's hand raise above his head, signaling something from above. I glanced up and saw a silver dragon, the same kind of monster that Kuja had used as a personal mount, hovering above.

"Well, this just got interesting," I said.

"It doesn't matter!" Zidane said. "We'll just cut through this one and take Garland out next!"

Zidane's plan was sound enough. We had the manpower to kill the dragon, but the problem was that, unlike the game, the dragon opted not to land and let us attack it. Instead, it hovered above us so that only Vivi had the chance of hitting him. With Garland to worry about as well, we had too much to worry about at once.

The plan became even more complicated when the Silver Dragon reared its head back and let out a mighty breath. Energy cracked in the air as lightning shot out of the dragon's mouth in a beam, striking the ground where Zidane had just been standing.

"GEEZ!" Zidane shouted after his dodge. "That thing's dangerous!"

I raised an eyebrow at the dragon, then looked back at Garland. He was staring straight at me, as if waiting for my next move. I didn't remember the Silver Dragon doing that in the game at all. And if we couldn't even reach him, Garland would keep hold of the upper hand. I had to do something.

_Kaiten, I'm sorry,_ I said. _We need to take that dragon out. We're going to have to leave Garland to the others._

"_Don't worry about it,_" Kaiten said. "_I came to the same conclusion. And besides… I don't think I could really attack General Saiko…_"

_We're agreed then._

"Zidane!" I shouted. "You take care of Garland. I'll take care of the dragon!"

"What?" he asked. "How?"

I pointed my thumb over my shoulder at my new airship.

"Oh, that," he said. "Alright, just be careful."

I practically leapt into the cockpit and started up the engines. Silver Dragon fighting Silver Dragon. It sounded like an absurd heavy weight championship bout. Still, the onboard lasers should be enough to fry the monster in half, assuming I could get him in my reticle.

The Silver Dragon took one look at my airship and knew that it had a new opponent. It tore its focus from the rest of the group and stared at me, flapping its wings hard and turning around and flying off to gain distance. I had to remember that it had the aerial advantage in agility and experience, but all I had to do was get one good hit in and the lasers would kill it easily. This was entirely reckless of me, but after the last week, I was in the mood for reckless.

I took off after the dragon, soaring through the sky. I left the tower behind as Zidane led the charge against Garland. I had to ignore them and trust that they would be alright. I couldn't get bogged down in too many converging thoughts or else the dragon—

"CRAP!"

Straight out of my blind spot, the dragon crossed in front of me and clawed at the front hatch of the airship. I slammed on the throttle. The dragon rolled over the body of my airship, rocking it and making us bounce. That probably wasn't good for the stabilizers.

"_Watch it!_" Kaiten yelled. "_That thing has the advantage up here! You can't lose track of it!_"

"Sorry, I'm new at this!" I shouted back sarcastically.

"_Just watch for when it turns around!_"

I pulled the airship around, facing the dragon head on, just in time to see it rear its head back again. I disengaged the stabilizers just in time and we started freefalling, barely missing another energy blast.

Alarms and lights started going off inside the cockpit as we rapidly accelerated towards the ground. I pressed the pop-ups that jumped out at me as holograms, trying to fight through the confusion and reengage the throttle.

"_How the hell was that a good idea?"_

"I panicked! Give me a break!"

"_You are the worst damn pilot I have ever seen!_"

The blue of the artificial trees came eerily close. I pulled on the control stick hard, avoiding a direct crash into one, but still nicked part of the foliage, breaking a chunk of it off. The Silver Dragon bucked as I pulled the control stick and slammed my foot against the throttle as far as it would go. Finally, within the dense cover of the blue tree stalks, I regained control and began weaving in and out of the forest. I barely managed to dodge each trunk and soon pulled the airship up above the trees once more.

Maybe taking this airship into battle wasn't such a good idea.

"_I think I'm going to be sick,_" Kaiten said. "_I don't even know how that's possible…_"

I fought a wave of nausea and the urge to copy Kaiten. I swallowed some bile back and took a deep breath. "I told you, no barfing in my head."

"_Stick to the matter at hand. Where's the dragon?_"

"Uh…" I stabilized the ship and looked at the brightly colored monitors. Each was marked with a set of scribbles that I couldn't hope to understand. Terran writing was my guess.

"_One o'clock, low!_" Kaiten yelled suddenly.

I looked out to the windshield and saw the dragon break through the foliage as well, almost directly in front of us. I jerked the airship over quickly, aiming him up with the reticle, but I lost sight of the firing button. I took my eyes off the windshield for a quick second to furiously search for it on the dashboard.

"_LOOK OUT!_"

I had barely enough time to see the dragon's claws scrape against the hull of the KM/S. Sparks flew at me and the airship was forced down into another nosedive. I had gotten used to the controls well enough that it didn't descend into the trees like last time, but we couldn't have a repeat of that attack.

"_What are you doing?_" Kaiten asked. "_We nearly had him that time!_"

"It's not my fault!" I said. "It's these damn controls! I can't read any of it."

"_Sonofa… fine. Let me take control of the left arm. Can you steer with one hand?_"

"I think so," I said. I was strapped into the seat pretty tightly, so I could balance myself with only one arm.

Kaiten took control of the left arm, leaving it numb for me. I blocked the thought of it out though and concentrated only on piloting the ship.

We tore through the skies again, scanning the horizon for any sign of the beast. It seemed to have ducked down beneath the trees again. Kaiten soon started pressing buttons on the dashboard and brought up several scans and maps. Some of them were holograms that ejected themselves out of the dashboard itself. Some attached to the HUD of the airship, obscuring my view.

"Kaiten, what are you doing?" I asked. "You're distracting me!"

"_Think of it as a video game,_" he instructed. "_I'm just launching scans. They should be able to— THERE! Three o'clock high!_"

I craned my head up and spun the airship around. Sure enough, the dragon coming in at our right flank from up above us. I stepped on the throttle and drove the airship straight for it. The dragon opened its maw and drew its claws out as we neared.

"Ready?" I shouted for Kaiten. I kept the airship as steady as I could as we narrowed the distance between us.

However, at the last second, the dragon's mouth glowed. It shot an energy beam out, hitting the hull of the airship just as Kaiten fired the lasers. The attack rocked the ship, forcing the lasers down low, missing the target.

"_BRACE FOR IMPACT!_"

The dragon slammed into the front of my ship, jerking it to a halt suddenly. It held on, digging its claws into the metal as it roared right into the windshield. I held the ship as steady as I could, but the beast was out of reach of the lasers, so there was only one thing I could do.

"ACTIVATE THE STABILIZERS!" I shouted for Kaiten. "GET THE JUMP JETS GOING!"

Kaiten reacted immediately, pressing the appropriate buttons. The airship righted itself up and held position as the jump jets started up. "_What are you going to do?_"

"Something desperate!" I said, releasing the windshield. The cockpit opened, as the thin air flowed into the airship. The dragon roared in my face, climbing its way towards me to attack. I just pulled a short sword from its sheath and aimed it at the dragon's maw.

"Get off my plane."

I pumped a wave of energy into the blade and a Demon Saber shot out into its mouth. The dragon pulled back at the last second, so the attack didn't decapitate it, but I still got a good hit in, cutting its cheek and part of its neck open. Blood spilled from its face as the dragon roared in agony. It slipped from the front of the jet and began to fall.

I sealed the cockpit once more and grabbed hold of the controls. "We're going after it!" I said. "Get ready to fire the lasers!"

Kaiten disengaged the stabilizers and the jump jets and we started another freefall, but this time we were much higher and I was ready for it. An alarm started to blare, but Kaiten muted it and readied his hand over the firing button. I kept the reticle steady over the falling dragon as its wings flapped weakly in the wind. It spread them out, trying to slow down, but we weren't about to give it another chance to recover.

"This is it!"

"_Hold it steady! Firing!_"

The laser barrage opened fire, hitting the target dead on and driving it harder into the ground. The twin beams cut through the beast, searing it in half. Pieces of it burned and flaked off before falling below the thick trees. There was no way the monster was recovering from that. With the dragon gone, I stepped on the throttle and flew my way back to Pandemonium.

"Well, that was fun," I said, taking a deep breath to settle my nerves. I wasn't sure I could pilot the airship into a steady landing with how hard my heart was pounding.

"_We're not doing that again,_" Kaiten criticized. "_It's just ground battles from now on._"

"Come on, you didn't think that was fun at all? We can chant more military jargon next time. You could have yelled 'firing for effect' when you shot the dragon. That would have been cool."

"_Firing for effect does not mean simply shooting something!_"

"It would still be cool."

"_Idiot._"

By the time we had gotten back to the tower, the fight between Zidane and Garland was on its last legs. Zidane and the rest of the party was out of breath, but holding their ground. Garland, however, was cut and bruised. He was missing a section of armor over his right shoulder and arm. It looked like all the magical power of Terra wasn't enough to beat his Angel of Death.

I hovered over the back of the platform and activated the jump jets. Garland gave me little notice as he tried to hold himself together, but he had sustained too much damage. Finally surrounded on both sides, Garland succumbed to his injuries and fell to one knee.

"You fight well," Garland said.

"Give it up Garland!" Zidane shouted. "You're surrounded and overpowered!"

"Kaiten, are you okay with this?" I asked my partner.

"_Am I okay with the man I respected for so long betraying me, killing my team, sealing me in someone else's body with another soul with no way to get out, and then someone else kicking his ass for it? No, not at all, but…_" Kaiten paused, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "_I don't think I could have raised a blade against him. This was all for the best, I suppose._"

"Yeah," I said, understanding his dilemma. "At least he's not dead. Maybe he can fix our problem if we stay behind and… hey, what's that alarm?"

A red light flashed, lighting up the entire cockpit, followed by a piercing screech. Holograms appeared on the dashboard, in big yellow writing.

"Kaiten, what is this?" I shouted.

"_IFF warning_!" he warned. "_We're being targeted!_"

"What? By who?"

My answer came as a precise laser shot through the hull of the Silver Dragon, taking out the engine and part of the left wing with it. With the jump jets still activated, we were sent spinning out of control towards the tower.

"Shit! SHIT!" I shouted. I slammed on the throttle and pulled on the control stick as hard as I could, but there were multiple systems out of commission. I couldn't do a thing as the wall came closer and closer.

"_BRACE!_"

The crash came so quickly that I lost track of myself for a moment. Everything shook hard. I couldn't breath for a moment as the shock sank in. I tried to get a hold of something, but I couldn't see anything. My hand wandered blindly, brushing against just about everything inside the cockpit, but finding nothing. I wanted to call for the others, to ask them to help, but I wasn't even sure where I was. Was I still on the top of the tower? Had I crashed through the wall and inside the maze climbing up? Was I even alive? I wasn't sure of anything.

"_Trevor, are you alright?_" Kaiten shouted. "_Don't worry, I'll get us out of here!_"

Fortunately, Kaiten still had control of our left arm. He punched the access button and opened the windshield. Wrapping an arm over the lip of the cockpit, Kaiten managed to drag us both up, into the smoking air. The Silver Dragon was on fire and burning badly. We were damn lucky that it didn't explode when it crashed.

With one big heave, Kaiten pulled our body out and sent us rolling down the side of the ship. I coughed up a mouthful of smoke, but with Kaiten's help, I was able to crawl away. The Silver Dragon was totaled and far beyond repair. Just my luck.

"_Are you okay?_" Kaiten asked.

"My soul is. Not sure about our body. Feels like we have a broken rib or two. And bruises everywhere."

"_Get the princess to fix it then._"

I looked around for a moment to get my bearings. There were ribbed patterns all over the walls, and I saw several small paths below me with glowing runes, either colored red or blue. We had crashed through the wall at the top of the tower, so we weren't far. That was good.

However, my good mood was ruined when I heard an explosion outside the nearest doorway. I feared the worst and shambled my way as quickly as my weakened legs would carry me.

As I walked back into the light, I saw the others injured and laying on the ground. Garland looked even worse, covering in a thin layer of ash, as Kuja floated down from above. I looked up and saw the Invincible, the most powerful airship in existence, hovering above us.

Kuja had been the one who shot Kaiten and I down. He had also launched an attack between Zidane and Garland, injuring everyone and setting the stage for his entrance. And with my injuries, I wouldn't be much use against him.

Kuja landed gracefully and broke into a laugh. "I must say… I truly love you all. You not only broke the seal to Terra, but you even did me the favor of defeating Garland! Zidane, you are truly an extraordinary Genome, deserving of my love!"

"Kuja!" Zidane said, struggling to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your brother."

"Shut up! You're no brother of mine!"

"Oh, such ferocity," Kuja mocked. He slowly made his way to Garland, who was still kneeling in pain. "Master Garland, he intends to fight Terra."

"Kuja…" Garland gasped weakly. "What are you scheming?"

"Scheming? Me?" Kuja laughed. "Why, not a thing! Watch me as I defeat these enemies of Terra."

However, when Kuja turned to face us, he was met with an unpleasant surprise. Zidane had already launched himself at Kuja. The thespian villain didn't have time to defend himself as the first dagger was scratched across his exposed stomach. The second soon buried itself in Kuja's gut. The man stared down in horror at the sudden and effective attacks Zidane had launched.

"You… you rotten little…" Kuja said, angered that he had let his guard down. He had been so busy gloating that he had forgotten how persistent Zidane was. Now, he was paying that price.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else," Zidane said. "Time to die Kuja."

With a simple shove, Zidane tossed Kuja over the edge of the platform. With twenty stories of distance between the platform and the ground, Kuja was soon destined to become a pile of mush.

"Zidane," I said. "You did it! I can't believe you… Nice job!"

This was perfect! Kuja was dead early, we didn't need to worry about his further plans, and now Garland could continue his work undoing his plan. Kaiten and I might even have enough time to be cured of our ailment! Everything was looking up!

And while I was dreaming, maybe I could win the lottery and marry a princess.

Zidane started to weakly make his way back to us, when suddenly, there was a loud sound. A roar and a whistle accompanied each other, followed closely by a pulsing hum of electricity. I could see a bright red light coming from over the edge of the platform and nearly collapsed from exhaustion and the futility of it all.

Kuja, grinning from ear to ear, rose into the air, glowing red with a new outfit and tenfold the power from before. His hair looked like it had been dyed with blood, and his outfit had gone from a theatre student's nightmare to a wide sleeved shirt and flowing skirt. Red covered his legs and chest, making him look like he was on fire. Everything about him screamed 'overpowered monster'. We were in trouble

"This… is the power of Trance!" Kuja gloated. "I'll show you my true strength!"

Weakened as we were, there was no way to stop Kuja as he raised his hands over his head. With what looked like minimal effort, he shot several small needles of energy into the sky. The needles converged and turned around, streaking through the air straight for us.

"Get down!" was all I had time to shout as Ultima, the strongest magic in the Final Fantasy universe, came crashing down over our heads. Each needle was strong enough to blow open a tank. We were bombarded with bolts of magic as they rained down from above, blasting against the platform and riddling it with holes. The others were blasted high and knocked around. I quickly lost sight of them as one blast landed at my feet, sending me senseless into a wall. I fell into a heap as pins and needles pressed against my every nerve ending. I tried to move, but my body had taken too much damage. The few parts of my body that I could still move felt incredible pain with each motion.

Soon, the bombardment stopped. Dagger had been thrown into the doorway a few feet from me. I saw Vivi laying in a crater in the middle of the platform. Zidane had landed on the lip of the platform and his arm dangled precariously over the edge. I had no idea where Steiner was.

"Yes…" Kuja said, uttering a soft chuckle. "Yes! This is the power I've longed for! The almighty power of souls! They assault any threat that tries to destroy them!"

"What… do you mean…?" Zidane asked weakly as Kuja hovered near him.

"It's Trance!" Kuja said. "You know how it works. But a normal Trance won't be enough to defeat you. You're all as resilient as oglops. Even tiny moogles can use Trance. When I saw that in Mount Gulug, I came up with a plan. It was easy. I just needed to borrow the power from wretched souls that can't die… Where did I acquire it, you ask? It was the Invincible, or should I say, that large eyeball in the sky?"

While he was on the Invincible earlier, he must have absorbed the souls somehow. If he had injected all those souls into himself directly, there was no way compatibility would maintain itself. He would die in minutes. Kuja knew exactly what he was doing, and now he could proceed with whatever plan he wanted to.

"The ship sucked up the souls of Madain Sari, the Iifa Tree, Alexandria, to feed upon them." Kuja stepped away from Zidane for a moment and hovered his way over to Dagger. He was close enough to me that I could have decapitated him with a Demon Saber. This is, if I could move.

Kuja cupped Dagger's chin gently and forced her to look him in the eyes. Her eyes went wide, half from disgust, half from fear. "When it fought Bahamut at the Iifa Tree, the Invincible drew in a powerful spirit… Can you guess to whom it belonged?"

"No…" Dagger muttered, trying to deny him.

"That's right!" Kuja said. He let Dagger go, though he might as well have thrown her back from the way she pushed herself away. "It was your mother's soul. A wretched soul that clung to life to the bitter end. The souls trapped inside the Invincible welcomed me with open arms. They were fed up with being your prisoners, Garland."

Kuja turned back to his former master, hovering his way over until he stood less than a foot away. "So, Master Garland. You are no longer needed. And after you've worked so hard… I shall rule Terra and Gaia with my unconditional love from now on!"

Garland struggled to breath and could only speak in labored breaths. "What would you do with such power?"

"Master Garland," Kuja said sweetly, but diabolically. "You of all people should accept defeat gracefully." Kuja pressed his point with a swift kick to Garland's ribs."

"How sad," Kuja mocked. "Any last words?"

Garland looked up defiantly. "Your power… is meaningless…"

Kuja wasn't amused by the proclamation. Instead, he landed another kick to Garland's chest, this time with enough force to knock Garland over the edge and send him falling to his death. Garland cried out in pain as he fell, until he traveled too far for his voice to carry.

"_NOOO!_" Kaiten screamed. "_General Saiko!_"

But Kuja wasn't finished with us. He turned back, smiling again like a true sadist. "Now, it's your turn," he announced. "Should I kill you quickly to show my appreciation for all you've done? Or should I kill you slowly and painfully to show you my love? Oh, I've got a great idea! How's this? I'll make you pillars for my castle! You'll all decorate my castle as a symbol of my eternal kingdom… How do you like that?"

Kuja was practically giddy with excitement. However, that excitement was soon cut off as a voice spoke into each of our minds.

**You could never build an eternal kingdom…**

Kuja's grin faded instantly. "That voice… Garland?" He walked over to the edge where Garland had fallen. "Did you leave something behind?"

**Do you think a defect like you could last forever?**

"What? What do you mean?"

**I built you to last until the worthy Genome, Zidane, grew. It was too dangerous to let you last any longer than that.**

"What are you saying?"

**There's a limit on your life… You'll be dead soon. Even as I die, you'll have died without ever leaving your mark on the world.**

"_How is this possible?_" Kaiten asked. "_We just saw the General get thrown to his death. How is he talking?_"

How indeed? I had my own guesses from playing the game, but at this point, after all this talk of souls, Terra, compatibility and mortality, I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

_What about what Garland was talking about before?_ I said. _He spoke of a world without life or death. If that were to occur, he'd have to create a soul that lasted forever. What better soul to experiment on than his own? Apparently, Kuja thought he had been given the same treatment._

"_And here I thought he was a cyborg like Innural. As expected of the only man I ever called 'Sir'._"

"What an interesting lie," Kuja said, laughing at Garland's statement. "You're telling me my life will end soon? Nice try Garland, but I won't fall for your silly tricks… Garland?"

However, this time, there was no response from the Eternal Watchman of Terra.

"Garland! Answer me!"

**You were created to destroy. You are a mortal.**

"A mortal?" Kuja whispered. He stopped hovering and stood at the edge of the ruined platform and looked out over the land. "…I'm finished?"

Kuja shook his head violently. "I don't believe you! Why would I believe such a ridiculous story? You're telling me that I'll die soon, now that I'm more powerful than anyone?"

When Garland didn't respond, Kuja fell to his knees. I saw him shake, as if he were succumbing to his fears. "I'm gonna… die? Lose my soul?"

However, his fearful shaking soon turned into rolling laughter. Kuja spread his arms wide, giving a deep laugh of denial.

"What comedy!" he shouted, barely able to contain himself. "Zidane, isn't it hilarious! I'll die, just like the black mages I so despise! I single-handedly brought chaos unto Gaia, but in the end, I'm nothing but a worthless doll!"

He stopped laughing abruptly and settled down. He kept his back to us, but his slumped shoulders were the only sign we needed to see.

"Kuja?" Zidane asked. He sounded confused, but I could hear a hint of concern mixed in as well. "…Kuja?"

"…I won't let it happen," Kuja finally announced. "I won't… I won't let this world exist without me!"

In his depression, Kuja forgot all about us. I wasn't about to complain, except that I knew what was coming next. We had to get out of this tower. No, it was worse than that… We had to get off of this planet!

Kuja flew over the observatory in the distance. He spread his arm out calmly, launching an Ultima in the form of a long energy bolt this time. The bolt crashed into one of the artificial trees. The energy exploded upon impact, breaking the tree in half and catching the top on fire.

He sent bolt after bolt after every tree in range, until the entire forest floor was engulfed in flames. The heat radiated up through the tower and the glow outperformed the glaring blue from the sky. Kuja had just set what little of Terra wasn't rotting and gray on fire.

Dagger finally found her strength and cast a Curaga on all of us. She drained herself doing it, but it was better than letting the tower burn with us at the top.

"Kuja…" Zidane muttered as he watched the horror before us. "I can't believe him…"

"Zidane!"

Suddenly, the remaining members of the party came running into the platform. Eiko rushed out across the crater-riddled platform and stopped at Zidane's side. "Zidane, we gotta get out of here before the tower collapses!"

"Not yet!" Zidane said. "We need to go back to Bran Bal and get everyone out."

"Why don't we steal Kuja's ship?" Eiko suggested. "It's at the bottom of the tower."

"Oh? Good idea! But…" Zidane paused to think for a moment. "Alright, you guys head for the ship."

"But what about you?" Freya asked.

"I'm gonna rescue the Genomes," he said. "They're victims. I can't just abandon them!"

"I'm coming with you," Dagger said suddenly.

"Dagger?"

"I don't want you to leave us again, so I'll keep watch over you."

Zidane smiled and looked back over in the direction of Bran Bal, but I suspected he was trying to hide a blush. "…Okay," he decided. "We should be able to get back through the warp gate in the other tower. That's how I got in. Dagger and I will rally the Genomes and get them ready to leave. Trevor, you already piloted one of the Terran airships. Do you think you can pilot the Invincible?"

_Do what now?_

The Invincible had a vastly different control scheme than the Silver Dragon did. In fact, from what I remembered, there were no obvious controls. Just a raised platform to stand on. Maybe I could figure something out when we boarded it, or maybe we would get lucky again.

"_Don't worry,_" Kaiten assured me. "_I can help with this. I'll translate everything. Just get us on that ship._"

"Trevor?" Zidane asked again. "Can you pilot the Invincible?"

"I figured it out once before," I said. "I'll manage it again."

But Amarant wasn't impressed. "You mean that smoldering heap in the hallway?"

"Hey! I was shot down with a town-destroying laser! That wasn't my fault!"

"Can we even trust him?" Freya asked. It was good to see that she still had the same disdain for me, even after Zidane apparently talked to the rest of them.

"We can," Zidane said. "Garland offered to make him a Prince of Terra, but Trevor refused. And you should have seen how badly hurt he was after the airship crashed. There's no way he'd do that if he weren't on our side."

"Two broken ribs," I said. "And some bruising."

Freya turned her nose up at me. "Fine, whatever."

"I see a bridge down below," Quina said. "Maybe it go to other tower?"

"It's worth checking out," Zidane said. "Good job Quina. The rest of you, get the Invincible to Bran Bal as soon as you can! We'll meet you there!"

Zidane and Dagger rushed on ahead of the rest of us. I looked around the rest of the group for an awkward moment as they all looked at me, judging me. I worried for a moment that they were going to jump me without Zidane to protect me, but then Vivi walked next to me.

"Trevor?" he said.

"Yeah?" I said, looking down to him.

"I'm glad you're back."

I heard murmurs of agreement from the others. Steiner and Quina nodded. Amarant folded his arms and Eiko looked disinterested. Freya was silent, but she didn't say anything against it, so I considered that a good thing at least. I still had some work to do, but at least they wouldn't try killing me.

"Thanks guys," I said. "Now where's this ship? We can't leave Zidane hanging."

XXXXXXXX

The Invincible was an enormous ship, easily as big as any airship on Gaia, but with a far stranger design. The main hull was composed of a large, light blue bubble. The bottom and stern of the ship seated the bridge bubble and were painted a darker blue. Fins adorned the sides and top of the Invincible, almost like a shark's fins. A long, pointed nose stretched out front. Last but not least was the Crimson Eye, the large laser port at the bottom of the airship. I thought of the times we saw it used in the Iifa Tree and Alexandria. It would give Alexandria a powerful upper hand in airship technology, but the weapon itself was too terrible to use. When we got it back to Gaia, I'd have to make sure we never used it, save for the most dire circumstances.

An open door on the side granted us access. Inside, the ship was as decorated and glamorous as the exterior. Jade walkways and crystal panels lined everything. Interlacing threads covered small sections of walls, adding to the décor. The ship itself seemed to hum with power, as shown by the pulsing light coming from the crystal walls.

I was in love.

"My gosh!" Eiko shouted, echoing in the large central chamber. "This ship is enormous!"

"Judging from the outside, and our current position," Steiner said. "I believe the bridge is that way!"

"Let's head that way then," I said.

"Hold it!" Freya said, looking around. "Where's Quina?"

I knew Quina was at the bottom of the airship, playing with the teleportation pad that the ship provided, but I didn't have time to waste. He would be up any second anyway.

"You guys look for him!" I said. "Steiner, I might need a hand in the bridge."

"Right behind you!" he said.

We both charged forth up a flight of stairs and into the next room. The stairs opened up into a wide room, complete with a holographic monitor at the far end and complete monitoring stations for navigation, communication and logistics controls. The monitor currently showed the view out in front of the ship of some tree trunks. I felt like I was walking onto the set of Star Trek.

"This is incredible," Steiner said.

"No kidding," I agreed. "Just look at all of this! We could do anything with this ship!"

"Trevor, there!" Steiner said, pointing to a small railing at the center of the bridge.

There was a semicircle railing set at chest height. On the floor inside the railing was a light blue circle, distinguishing itself from the jade colored floor. Zidane stood there when he piloted the ship in the game. Maybe I could do the same if I stood there.

I walked up to the circle and placed my hands on the railing. There were no controls, buttons, switches levers or holograms that I could see. I had no idea how to pilot this thing.

"Well?" Steiner asked impatiently. "Do you know how to fly it?"

"Of course I do," I said. "I took classes on piloting alien warships in college."

"This is serious!" Steiner reminded me. "If we can't even disembark, then we can't rescue her Highness and the Genomes."

"And Zidane?"

"Yes, him too."

"Guys!" Vivi shouted, running into the room. "Quina teleported on board. We can go now!"

"He WHAT?" Steiner bellowed.

"Works for me," I said. I grabbed onto the railing and examined the entire room again.

_Kaiten, any ideas?_ I asked.

"_I… honestly, I'm not sure,_" he said. "_I figured there would be instructions, or writing somewhere like in the Silver Dragon, but this airship was tailored just for General Saiko. I don't think we'll have as easy a time with this_."

_Dammit! It bloody figures!_

"Trevor?" Vivi asked. "Why aren't we moving yet?"

"Working on it."

"You'd best hurry," Steiner said. "The fires around us are spreading. It won't be long until they reach us!"

"Working on it!"

"Well, work harder!"

"The hell do you want from me?" I shouted. "I don't see a manual for this anywhere. I can't just make this thing rise!"

Just then, the ship jerked to life. It shuttered and rose into the sky. I grabbed the railing out of surprise. Steiner fell back to the wall and Vivi collapsed onto his face. I watched the monitor with a mix of horror and confusion. Just then, as I was begging everything to return to normal, but ship halted, hovering just around the midsection of Garland's tower.

"How did you do that?" Steiner asked as he stood up again.

"Uh, I'm not sure?" I said. I slowly released my grip on the railing, fearful that the airship would speed off and knock me to the ground. "Maybe if I…"

"_Trevor, I think I got it_," Kaiten said suddenly. "_Stare at the monitor and say 'forward'._"

_What's going on?_

"_I'm just testing something out. Hurry up!_"

_Fine, fine._

I looked at the monitor and followed Kaiten's instructions. "Forward," I said. I held onto the railing again, waiting to see what happened.

The ship didn't budge.

_Uh, Kaiten? Didn't work._

"_All part of the test,_" he said. "_Now concentrate. Don't say anything, but instead, just desire the ship to move forward slowly._"

_Um… alright, I guess. Here goes…_

I thought hard, concentrating on the monitor and telling the ship to move forward. I didn't see what the point was since the ship clearly wasn't reacting. I started to get impatient and gripped the railing harder. Why wasn't the Invincible moving like I had told it to? All I wanted it to do was move forward!

And with that thought, the ship budged. It started to fly forward, barely missing the tower. I nearly jumped back out of reflex, telling it to stop. Again, the ship reacted to my thoughts and stopped.

"_I thought so!_" Kaiten said. "_The ship reacts to a person's will! Stand on the blue circle there and you can order the ship to do anything telepathically!_"

_I can telepathically communicate with the ship? How advanced is this thing?_

"_Terrans have been around a lot longer than Earthlings have._"

_Apparently. And here I thought me saying the command was enough to move it._

"_That sounds like the plot of a bad movie."_

_Ha, it does, doesn't it?_

"Trevor!"

I was snapped out of my thoughts by an angry Steiner standing at my side. He was red in the face and had probably been yelling for a few seconds prior.

"Stop spacing out!" he ordered. "Have you discovered how to fly this airship yet?"

"Just figured it out," I said. I extended my arm for show and twisted my hand, giving the ship the order to turn around. Pushing my hand further forward made the ship advance in that direction. Steiner and Vivi just watched in silent wonder.

"Now, which way is Bran Bal?" I asked.

XXXXXXXX

By the time we got to Bran Bal, Dagger was leading a group of Genomes towards the edge of town. I told the Invincible to dock near a hanging ledge so the civilians could have the easiest time walking on board. I took a quick look at the group though, and was amazed that they all really looked like Zidane. If it weren't for his unique character, he could have fit right in.

I held the Invincible in place as Dagger helped each and every one of the Genomes on board, though it wasn't easy to maintain. Terra was still burning and there were still several trees left that had yet to come down. Many of them were in range of the village and our new ship. I kept an eye on the monitor for any anomalies, just in case we had to move quickly.

"Dagger says that's all the Genomes!" Eiko said, rushing into the room.

"Where is her Highness?" Steiner asked. "Has she boarded yet?"

"She's outside, waiting for Zidane."

"But it isn't safe out there! I must get her!"

"Nowhere on this entire planet is safe right now," I told him. "Just give her a minute."

"But I must make sure she's safe!"

"Oh for… wait a second." I raised my arm at the monitor, made a fist, and dragged it along, ordering the ship to pan the camera view. I wasn't sure it would work at first, but after a few inches, the Invincible got the idea. The camera panned until we had a view of Dagger, staring longingly into the village for Zidane to return.

"What? How did you do that?" Steiner asked.

"I'm magic!"

"Hey! I'm magic too!" Vivi said. "Do you think I could control the airship?"

I had to chuckle at that. "I'll teach you as soon as we're off world."

Suddenly, Zidane came on screen. He was dragging one last Genome behind himself. A girl. I recognized immediately that she had to be Mikoto, the replacement Garland made after Kuja kidnapped Zidane and sent him to Gaia. She was to be the next Angel of Death, but with Garland dead, that whole plan seemed rather moot.

Mikoto was dressed the same as the other Genomes, but her pessimistic appearance set her apart, as if she were the lone person with the weight of any experience on her shoulders. In many ways, that was exactly who she was, since she was the only other Genome with a soul. She grew up while all the others were born in a tube at a set age. She would make a good addition to our merry band.

I saw Freya rushed out to shout at our dire situation. The world had gone from glowing a gentle, if not piercing, blue, to an urgent orange. The flames now ate away at the last trees around Bran Bal, just as the village was about to be destroyed.

I saw the remaining four of our party outside the ship run inside. From down the hall, I heard the door seal shut and I panned the camera back to its original setting.

"We're all aboard!" I heard Freya shout into the bridge. "GO!"

"We're going!" I yelled back. "Hang on!"

Immediately, the ship left port and flew away, just in time to see a tree collapse onto Bran Bal and incinerate half of it in one go. The rest of the village would burn along with it, but it was amazing how many close calls we were going through today.

I turned the ship up and headed for the sky. In the distance, there was a bright light, like a small drop of sunlight beaming down at us. It was sure to be the portal back to Gaia. I turned the ship up at a high angle and aimed for it as quickly as I could. I had to hold on to the railing as the angle soon became too sharp to stand on. Steiner, Vivi and Eiko all slid back and rolling into the wall.

I was sure that similar things were happening to the others and the Genomes in the central chamber, but I didn't have time to be concerned. My goal was to get everyone off of Terra as quickly as I could. I drove the Invincible into the light as a warm, but blinding sensation overtook all of us…

XXXXXXXX

The light soon enough gave way to darkness, and the excitement surrounding the ship settled down. The warmth left, leaving only the humming of the ship and the light from the monitor and control panels. I watched outside to see the clouds rolling along below us and the bright, cheerful sunlight of Gaia shining down on us. It wasn't Earth, but it was a start.

"We're home!" Eiko shouted excitedly. "We made it! We made it!"

There was a collective sigh of relief on the bridge, and I could hear some of the others cheering in the back. The Genomes were all silent, but that was to be expected.

"So, what do we do now?" Vivi asked. "Are we going to Alexandria?"

"It would be best to return home," Steiner said. "Queen Garnet will have to return to her duties soon."

"And it would be a good idea to resupply," I agreed. I told the ship to head forward, while trying to bring up a map of Gaia. The ship moved easily, however, it didn't seem to have one stored. Kuja just had the ship tag along behind him when he traveled, so he never needed to use the sip to navigate. That was fine for him, but where exactly on Gaia were we?

"Why would we need to resupply?" Eiko said. "Kuja's dead, isn't he? How could he have gotten off of Terra in time?"

"We managed it," I pointed out. "Plus, we lost sight of him after he started his rampage. He could have gotten off the planet before we did and left the whole thing to burn."

"Trevor's right," Steiner agreed. "It would be best not to underestimate our opponent. Let us return her Highness to the throne and the rest of us can search for Kuja."

"You think she'd let us hunt him without her?" I asked.

"Uh, well… she…"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Guys?" Vivi peeped suddenly. "Does something seem strange about that cloud?"

I stared at the monitor for a moment, and realized that we had been looking at the same formation for the last minute. Clouds could get big, but at the speeds we were moving, we should have seen a break in them at some point. This one just had the same puffy pattern continue on and on and on.

"Yes, that does seem strange," Steiner agreed. "Perhaps we should lower our altitude?"

"No, wait," Vivi said. He took a step closer to the monitor and stared at it for a moment. The rest of us were silent, watching him curiously until he said, "I think it's mist!"

"Mist?" Steiner barked out. "But… but that's impossible!"

"How can it be mist?" Eiko asked. "We killed the monster that makes it!"

"But we didn't kill the Iifa Tree," I said. And now that Terra was burning, possibly gone, the transfer of souls trading between Gaia and Terra were in flux. There was a backup, which was spilling onto the world as mist.

"I have to get Zidane!" Steiner shouted as he rushed out of the room.

"This is bad," Eiko said. "This is bad! This is bad!"

"I know," I agreed, trying to quiet her. It was odd. I knew this was coming, but there was still a sense of dread and a knot in my stomach. My mind was clouded and I wondered how much damage we would actually be able to prevent, especially with Kuja, very much alive, and in control of something very, very dangerous.

"You see?" Steiner said as Zidane walked back into the room.

"So what?" Zidane said. "They're just clouds. Let's just lower our altitude and break through them."

"Small problem with that," I said. I stood on the pilot's circle and extended my arm to the monitor. _Display altitude,_ I told the ship. Fortunately, the ship understood and a small box appeared in the upper right corner of the screen, showing "92 m".

"Huh?" Zidane said, confused. "What's '92 m' mean?"

"_We're only 92 meters up?_" Kaiten asked. "_That's… about 300 feet!_"

"It means we're 300 feet in the air," I said. "Far too low for clouds."

"Then what is it?" Zidane asked.

"…It's mist," Vivi said apprehensively. "It's what the black mages are made of…"

"We've been flying pretty fast for a while," Eiko said. "I think the mist covered all of Gaia!"

"Why? How?" Zidane said, standing next to me and staring hopelessly at the monitor. "Kuja, what are you planning now?"

This was bad. We still had the Genomes on board and Zidane wouldn't risk harm coming to them, not after the effort we took in saving them. Not to mention his little sister being on board. I gave the order for the ship to head to the Black Mage Village, then told it to go to autopilot and hold position when it got there. I had no idea if it would follow all those orders, but it turned slightly to port and took off. The ship might not have had a map, but it still had the village's position memorized. That worked for me.

"Zidane," I said, stepping off the pilot's circle. "I haven't eaten or slept since we landed on Terra. I'm going to pass out for a while, then I'm going to raid whatever kitchen this ship has."

"Uh, sure," he said. "Where are we headed?"

"Black Mage Village. I thought it would be the best place for the Genomes to live."

"Oh, good idea," he nodded. "I think the Black Mages would be able to help the Genomes out a lot."

"Just step on the blue circle and tell the ship what to do when you want to pilot it," I told him as I exited. "It's controlled by the pilot's will."

As I walked through the ship, I saw all these Genomes that we had rescued from the village. They all stood around unimpressively. If they showed any less emotion, I would have guessed they were robots or something. I saw Freya and Amarant standing by the teleportation beam talking, and Dagger was getting to know Mikoto a little. Everyone seemed calm enough out here. Hopefully that meant I wouldn't be disturbed.

There were a few rooms breaking off from the central room. Storage closet or not, I just wanted rest and privacy. My exhaustion was finally catching up to me. It was only the adrenaline that let me carry on as long as I had. Now I felt incredibly weak and nearly collapsed as soon as I had opened the door. I closed it behind me and a light turned on. I was in an office, with only a desk and chair. That suited me fine. I had fallen asleep at my desk plenty of times in college.

But the real reason I had to be alone came around as I took my armor off. I let it drop to the floor and lifted my shirt, examining myself. The dark spot on my stomach, where my body was rotting, had spread across all of my abs and was brushing against my ribs now. I stared in horror for a moment, telling myself that I couldn't actually be rotting. It was just a bruise from combat! I did crash in an airship after all.

But, when I pressed my finger against it, I didn't feel any pain, or any sensation at all. It was as if Kaiten had taken over that section of our body, but I knew that he hadn't done such a thing.

_Kaiten?_ I asked. _Is this really happening?_

He was silent for a moment. I nearly called out to him again when he responded with, "_Yeah… I don't want to believe it's real, but it is_."

I almost wanted to cry. I… We, had gone through so much together, endured each other as anomalies, as enemies, as partners and finally, as friends. And now, because we weren't in perfect sync, we were going to die.

This wasn't fair! I had done so much in my life to help others! I always put them before myself! I didn't let the others worry about me when I was attacked in Dali so they could focus on helping Vivi! I took so many injuries that I stopped counting them long ago! I made sure the storyline was on track, sacrificing everything I could to keep the others safe and sound. Was that not enough? Had I not done enough good?

This fate… This horrible death was all that awaited me now. How long did I have? Days? Hours? Could I even live long enough to finish Kuja off? I knew I wasn't going to see Zidane and Dagger's happy reunion at the end of the game, but now I might not even see the end of Memoria.

This was all such bullshit.

_So, we're gonna die, just like that?_

"_Seems like it._"

…_This isn't fair…_

"_I agree…_"

…_Kaiten…?_

"_Yeah Trevor?_"

…_I'm scared…_

"_Yeah… me too…_"

XXXXXXXX

BOOK 3: DESTRUCTION- COMPLETE.

BOOK 4: CONTROL- COMING SOON…

Thank you again for your continued support. See you guys next month!

-Kyle Martin, a.k.a. Krimson Rogue


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